Brownies for everyone
by CutieZofia
Summary: After Ranger saying that he don't love Stephanie he's left alone. After a while a mysterious Charles Brown is threatening Ranger's position as top Bounty hunter. Who is he and why does he come after Ranger? R/S, rated M for language
1. Chapter 1

**Hopefully you'll like this story. **

**This is the first chapter and I apologize that it's so short, the other chapters will be longer**

**Not making money, not mine**

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Ranger POV

I liked to think that I'm the best in the business. The bounty hunting business. And to last week, I was. My name is Carlos Manoso, AKA Ranger and the owner of RangeMan. I'm a bounty hunter and live in Trenton. I have a child and I have been in love two times. A long time ago with the mother of my child and then there was Stephanie.

She and I used to work together and I was passionately in love with her. She had moved to my apartment on seventh floor and we were happy. Then one day disaster struck. She had asked if I loved her. And I hadn't said yes.

I don't know how it happened but my mouth refused to say the word "Yes". I had said no and she had left me. She had taken her bags and left, leaving me there on the bed, alone and confused. I had broken her heart and mine too. The ache of not having her there almost killed me and I stayed there in the same position for a whole day. I would have stayed longer but Tank, my best friend and coworker, had come after me, forcing me back to work.

I had tried to track her with no luck. Oh, the irony. I had taught her how to "disappear" and leave no traces or clues. The trace went cold as soon as she left the building. Nothing.

With a broken heart I had returned to work.

Back to start. Yes, I had been the best bounty hunter in the world. Not anymore. Last week I had heard a rumor that there was a Charles Brown in Europe who was better than I was. I had thought that I had heard about every bounty hunter but he was new. I had had searches do a search on him.

He was in his late thirties and was shorter than I was. He had gone to _ university and passed with flying colors. Not even one parking ticket. The guy was clean. And up to that moment nobody had heard about him. And he had gone past me.

I had thought about this and had decided to send him an email. Keep your friends close, enemies closer.

_"Hello, Mr. Brown_  
_My name is Carlos Manoso and I'm a bounty hunter and founder of RangeMan. As you were new to the business and I have been in for almost 20 years, I decided to send you an email if you want to get in touch or need advice. I'd be happy to help."_

I sent the email and went back to my empty apartment.

* * *

I woke up and went through my morning routines. Shower, clothes and breakfast. Then to the gym, quick shower and work. I worked through some meetings and then I got some free time. I grabbed an apple and walked to my office. I checked my email.

_"Dear __Mr Manoso_  
_If I remember correctly I have gone past you, so really do I need advice from you? I have gotten here without you and I'll think I'll manage from now on too._  
_Sincerely_  
_Charles Brown"_

I sat there in awe. Nobody had never, ever talked to me like that. The shock was replaced with anger. Who did he think he is, talking to me like that? Ungrateful idiot from Europe. I walked out to the door.

"Santos! Tank! My office NOW!"

The two men hurried to my office and they looked worried. Before they got the door closed Lester spoke.

"It wasn't me! I swear, it was Cal he forced me to it!"

"To what?" I asked him, slightly amused.

"You don't know? Oh man.."

"We'll talk about this later."

"What's this about?" Tank asked me and sat down on he chair in front of my desk.

"I need to know about this Charles Brown." I told them the facts and they returned to work on him.

If he had skeletons in his closet, I would soon know.

* * *

After a few hours they returned.

"Nothing." Tank said to me.

"Nothing?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah. Nobody has nothing. I think it's a little suspicious." Lester said as he set down the file on my desk. I took it and glanced at it. They were right. Nothing. I thought about things.

"Call the plane. We're going to UK."

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	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two!**

**Thank you for the reviews :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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Steph POV

I had been busy since I had left Ranger. I had flown to Europe, traveling around the countries finally settling in London. I was determined to start my own business and after a couple of weeks I was set to start. At the start I was the only employee in the CharlesBrown company. I had taken the name Charlotte Brown and was supposedly married to Charles Brown, who I also had made up. I took the name because there was no ties to my actual name.

After successfully capturing a few huge bonds I hired another employee. His name was Adam Cabot and we grew to be very close. He and I managed the business and soon we were the most successful bonding company in Europe. We expanded to security soon after and with the skills I learned during the time I spent with Ranger, we were the best in business.

He had been screwing with me from the start and I was mad! I was determined to use the skills he learned me against him. I employed now nearly 20 men and women, a thing that Ranger never did. I knew that women were as good as men in this business. Soon we passed him in ranking and I threw a party. I had told my friends who were also working for me, the whole story and they were on my side in this thing. We partied hard and late and I felt horrible the morning after.

* * *

I had purchased a house on the outskirts of London. It was three story house in a Victorian style. I had renovated it, the first floor had the kitchen and living area with two living rooms and spa in the back. The second floor had apartments where Mark, Cindy, Michelle and Oscar lived in. They were the core team with me and Adam. He and I lived on the third floor, in separate apartments, he on the north side, me on the south side. In the middle of the house was the grand stairwell. It was huge and gave the house the glamor it needed.

There was was a basement too. There was the gym and computer rooms. The security center was there too and somebody was always there watching the monitors. I had learned that it was for the better to change shifts often so that one would not be sitting there for over four hours. After that the chance of missing something increased.

I had also build two buildings on the yard. One was full of apartments for ten more and the other was guesthouse, where the guys who lived with their families in London stayed during work. They worked one week and had the next week off.

My apartment was large. You entered through a double door and to a hall. If you looked straight forward you were met with a gorgeous view over a small lake. There was four doors in the hall. I had a large table in the middle and a chandelier on top of it. I had fallen in love with it when I saw it at a second-hand shop and had bought it with 50 pounds. Straight forward was my personal living room.

The door that was first on the left side led to my office. It was a small room with large bookshelves filled with books and a desk in front of a large window. I had decorated it with pictures of my family and friends. The colors were in soft beige's and browns, I avoided the black.

The first door on the right led to the kitchen. It was a huge because Adam had taught me how to cook. Now, I loved cooking and was pretty damn good at it. It was shaped like a "L" and had a little island in the corner. It was decorated in light blue and brown and it was always clean. There was a fruit basket on the counter and Rex's cage was on the island. A door behind the corner led to the dining room.

The second door on the right led into a small closet. If you were not paying much attention it seemed like an ordinary closet, but behind the jackets and shoes were a huge gun collection. I had gotten better at shooting and now that I was responsible for twenty, let's just say that I took my job seriously.

The last door on the left side led to my bathroom. It was spacious and white. I decorated the bathroom with different color rugs and towels, according to my mood. There was a large tub and a shower as well as a toilet and sink. A second door on the other side led to my closet. It too was large and filled with clothes. It was divided in two, working clothes and casual. The working clothes side was darker and held a lot of cargo pants and shirts, t-shirts and tops. The casual side had many colors and different textures.

There was another door that leaded through to my bedroom. It was a huge room with the end wall was made of glass, and a king sized bed was against the wall and a Monet above it. I changed the pillows and blankets according to my mood. There was a large cupboard full of blankets and pillows. Against the bed was double glass doors that led into the living room. The end wall was made out of glass and in the middle of the room were a couch and two large chairs. In the middle was a coffee table filled with books and magazines. Behind the couch and chairs was a large dining room table made out of dark wood. There was seats for twelve and there was a beautiful flower arrangement on the middle of the table.

* * *

I woke up in my bed with my clothes still on. I groaned as the last night caught up with me. I rolled to my stomach so that I could see the time in the digital watch on the night stand. 8.43. I groaned again and reached for my phone and pager. Both were empty. The pillows were light blue.

I took a shower and decided to wear casual clothes. I could come back up and change if the situation needed that. I walked barefoot to the kitchen and made my self some breakfast and took a pill against the headache. I gave Rex a grape and sat down to eat my breakfast at the island. When I was done, I said goodbye to Rex and walked to the closet, took a gun and patted across the hall.

Adam's apartment was like mine only mirrored. I sneaked in to try to find him. I found him laying in his bed, snoring. I climbed beside him.

"Hey you..." he said voice thick from the sleep and wrapped his arm around me. No point of trying to surprise this man. I snuggled closer.

"Thanks for last night. I mean, getting me back to my place safely. I was a bit crazy last night."

I felt him laughing.

"A bit? A bit? That's an understatement. I mean, dancing on the table? Really?"

I punched him and stuck my tongue out at him.

"I made breakfast, it's in my kitchen if you want to. I'm going to the basement."

He groaned to let know that he heard. I left him and hopped down the stairs to first floor. For safety reasons the stairs to the basement were behind a locked door behind the kitchen in a, what appeared to be an ordinary cupboard. I typed in the password and descended to the dragon's lair.  
"Hey Mark!" I said as I walked past him, watching the monitors.

"Hi darling. How are we feeling today?" he turned and smiled at me.

"Better." I laughed at him and continued to the computer room and sat down at one of them. I could have used the one in my office but I liked it here, where all the action happened. I checked my emails.

_"Hello, Mr. Brown_  
_My name is Carlos Manoso and I'm a bounty hunter and founder of RangeMan. As you were new to the business and I have been in for almost 20 years, I decided to send you an email if you want to get in touch or need advice. I'd be happy to help."_

That arrogant bastard. I pressed "print" and printed ten copies. Then I took the copies and taped one on the computer room door and one on the monitor room. Then I went one floor up and taped the rest up on the walls.

I walked downstairs and replied.

_"Dear Mr. Manoso._  
_If I remember correctly I have gone past you, so really do I need advice from you? I have gotten here without you and I'll think I'll manage from now on too._  
_Sincerely_  
_Charles Brown"_

I picked up my phone.

"Hi, Michelle. Hope I didn't wake you up. Oh, your up already? Good, I need you to watch the RangeMan plane. I want to know when to expect them."

I hung up on her after a goodbye and dialed Cindy.

"Hey honey! I need your make-up skills soon. I've gotta go undercover."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three! :)**

**It's a long chapter this time, it's the longest I have written so far and I hope you like it. In this chapter the story behind Adam is told as well as some of the others. Also Ranger get his ass kicked by a girl, should be fun ;)**

**Thank you for the reviews and special thanks to Emelie Martel, I love you all **

**Not mine, not making any money**

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Stephanie POV

I remembered that day well. It had been a week after I had hired Adam. I was feeling sad as it was my mom's birthday and I couldn't contact her in anyway. Adam had suggested that I sent a letter to her, as Ranger probably wouldn't have the resources to monitor her mail. Or that I sent it to Lula who would give it to her. I had agreed on the later one and had spent a whole night trying to tell her everything that I could without giving crucial information in case it got to wrong hands. Or in Rangers.

I poured my heart into that letter, and I cryed, threw things and laughed until I cryed again. The paper was smudged and dirty as I had fallen asleep on it. Adam had found me in the morning laying on the kitchen countertop and had mailed it for me.

_"Dear Mom._  
_I love you and I'm okay. I had to leave as things got hard and the person I thought I could trust didn't earn my trust. I can't tell you where I'm but trust me, I'm fine. I'm so sorry to put you through this and I wish I could call you and talk to you. I didn't know how much I needed you until I couldn't call or visit you. Tell Dad I said hi and tell him not to worry. It's lovely here and I wished you could see it. I have made new friends which I could trust with my life. I'm sure that they wouldn't lie to me. Don't be mad or sad. Be happy, because I am. I wish from the bottom of my heart that I could be there to give you a hug. Be strong, mom, show them what we are made of. And please don't show this to Ranger or Joe. My feelings about them are not so kind, if you know what I mean. I love you and always will! Even though there are distance between us I believe that this will be fine one day. I love you. Please don't worry, I hate to think that I cause you any more trouble than I have already done. I miss you terribly and I wish you were here. I love you._  
_Try to keep dad from killing grandma._  
_-Stephanie._  
_PS. Ranger if you're reading this then F. you. You are a very sad man!_  
_PS2: I'm sorry about the language, mom."_

I wrote a small letter to Lula as well telling her what to do and told her about Ranger, ranting on and on about how I hated him and what I wanted to do with his lousy ass. Lula would understand. Lula would hunt him down and kick his ass. I had laughed at that, enjoying it. I was full of revenge, with what happened with Joe and the pouring all of my trust into Ranger and him throwing it away.

* * *

And now months later I was still angry. A lot had happened since then. I had worked on my anger with Adam, he let me kick his ass and let me cry against him. He had been the best friend I had needed and had stood besides me since. As though I was close with the whole core team and the rest of the guys, I was the closest with him. He was my Tank.

I had only started my business when I had seen him. I was working on my laptop in the cafe just outside the house I used to live in. It was a lovely place, small and intimate, decorated with vintage furniture and had very old newspapers on the tables. I used to sit in a blue, armchair in the back of the cafe. There was about ten tables and they all were different, mine was a small one, made out of pine tree. It was always empty. That day I had noticed that this long, brown haired and kind looking man was watching me from the front of the building and I had smiled at him. He had gotten up and sat down with me.

"Hi, I'm Adam." he said to me offering his hand to me. His voice was softer than I had imagined it to be and he didn't seem uncomfortable just sitting with a random woman he met in a coffee shop.

"Charlotte." I answered, remembering that I wasn't Stephanie anymore and shook his hand.

"So why are you so far away from home?" he tilted his head slightly and looked at me.

The question caught me of guard and I spilled my coffee on my new pants. I had had to buy new clothes as I hadn't had time to take with me my old ones. I had jumped on a train and gone to Washington DC and flown from there using a fake passport I had gotten a few years ago. I hadn't used it before that time and when I got to Europe I had gotten my self a new identity. I was Charlotte Brown, married to Charles Brown. We had both gone to University of Oxford and had gotten married soon after that. After the marriage we travelled around Europe. My parents had been killed in a car accident when I was nine and after that I had lived in a boarding school and in the summer with my grandmother Julia. She had tragically died from a heart attack when I was twenty. Charles had come from a small family in northern Scotland and his father had left him and his mother when he was 4. His mother had killed herself after that and he had been brought up by a church and he had worked non stop to get to university. We had met there on a maths class and it was love at first sight.

As soon as I hit London I rented a room from a nice family. I had gone shopping and started my new business. All my clothes were different from what I wore in Jersey. My wardrobe was more elegant and sophisticated and.. mature. The jeans I had spilled on were my favourites. They fit me like a glove and made my bum look very good. I stood up and tried to wipe the coffee away with a napkin having no luck with that.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry about your jeans!" Adam said now standing and offered me more napkins.

"That's okay." I said and sighed. I had to go and buy some new jeans. And some shoes. Maybe even a purse. I sat down and looked at the guy.

He was in his thirties and was very muscular. His hair was medium long and slightly wavy. His eyes were blue and they seemed to look me right down to my soul. They were kind but also like they had seen a lot of hard stuff. When he smiled, he smiled with all his face. He wore a red t shirt and jeans and sneakers. He was looking at me smiling and leaning on his hands.

"You're married to Charles Brown right?" he asked me and surprised me yet again.

"Yes. Why?" I asked him with a surpriced voice. Who was this guy?

"I'm looking for a job." he said and sighed. "It's hard you know? I don't want to waiste my time on some stupid job, like working in a fast food restaurant. I heard that you guys had opened a bonding company and I really need the job. I was the top of my class in the army and I like to do some physical work. "

I looked at him. Could I trust this guy? I could need some extra hands as I was getting more and more bonds. This guy seemed to tell the truth, his face lit up in a funny way when he talked.

"You know, my husbands out of town." For ever. "So, I'm managing the business. Why don't you take your coffee and come with me to the office, so we can talk in peace?"

He agreed to come with me and we returned to my office. We talked and I started to trust him. He was a honest guy and I hired him right away. I haven't been disappointed with him to the date. He was good at what he did and still managed to small talk. I loved him more as days passed and when I got shot, I had to rely my life in his hand. He got me to the hospital and brought the guy we had been busting back to jail. While I was recovering he managed the business and he did that great. I signed the bonds and he busted the sorry asses. After that I had told him the truth about me but he hadn't left and I was thankful for that.

A little while after we had decided to bring someone else in. We had found her after five days of interviews and she was the last one we interviewed.

"Michelle Jordan. I'm sorry I'm late." We shook her hand and after a long interview we knew that she was our next employee.

She was beyond happy as I told her the good news. She was about my height with ruby red, curly hair and chocolate brown eyes with the longest eye lashes I have ever seen. She drove a fast, black BMW and was a brilliant addition to us. She looked sweet but was really good in kickin'-ass and she could shoot an apple from the other side of a football field. During her day off she was relaxed and very happy, always laughing and smiling. We used to go to the mall together and one day I went with her to the hair salon. She talked me into dying my hair black and when I looked in the mirror I couldn't recognize myself. That was good as I was terrified that Ranger would come and drag me back to the States. When I had bought the house outside London she had helped me decorate it. We are very close.

Then the next were Cindy Queen, Mark Andrews and Oscar Steel. Cindy was a killer make-up artist. She used to transform us when we went undercover as well as being unbelievably good at doing searches. Oscar and Mark where mostly on the field as they were strong and big guys. Oscar was great in captures and Mark was head of the security branch. These five were the persons that I counted on the most and they were also my closest friends in the UK.

* * *

When I was finished making the arrangements for the guys from RangeMan I walked upstairs to Cindy's apartment. Her place was decorated with silver's and blue's and she had turned her office to a make-up studio. I got her always the most recent make-ups so that she could do her magic.

I knocked on her door and walked in when I heard the "come in!" . Cindy was shorter than I was and blond. She was one of the smartest person I know so I don't know about that dumb blond thing. She was wearing pink yoga pants and a top so I assumed I had interrupted her. The door opened to a small hall and you could see the kitchen and livingroom. Two doors were on the left side, one for the bedroom and on for the office.

"Don't worry about that, honey. Now you had some undercover issues to talk to me about?"

She led me to her office and sat me down at the salon chair she had in the middle of the floor. There was enormous amounts of make-up and hair products on the shelves that covered all of her walls. A large mirror was beside the door and I could see our reflections on it. I turned the chair so that I could see both the window and door. A small shower was in the back.

She sat down on a wooden chair beside a huge desk.

"So, Ranger's coming. Michelle told me that they'll land in about two hours and I can count with one hour to find us."

"I understand. So you don't want him to recognize you?" she giggled and started to rummage through the make-up to find something.

"Yes. Until I know what to do with him." I shifted nervously in the chair.

She laughed and pulled her brushes. I felt nervous. Not about Cindy, but about Ranger. Even after several months I wasn't that sure about my feelings for him.

"Do you have a picture of you when he last saw you?" Cindy said to me as she put on her working shirt. It was one of Marks old collar shirts. She used to use it when she dyed hair to protect her own clothes.

I nodded and looked at the picture I had brought. It was taken the day before I left. In the picture Ranger was hugging me and we both laughed. My brown curls where all over the place and I wore only mascara and lip gloss. I gave the picture to Cindy and closed my eyes. I had three hours to mentally prepare myself. In three hours I would be looking at Ranger's eyes. I swallowed hard.

"Do your magic Cindy. I trust you." I sighed and enjoyed the feeling of someone brushing my hair and doing my make-up.

* * *

Ranger POV

As soon as we landed at Heathrow Tank rung our informant in London. He gave us the address to the town office Charles Brown had. It was closed as we drove past it but I didn't feel discouraged. I called Hal back in Trenton to run a search for houses in the name of Charles Brown. We sat silently in the car as we waited for him to call us back. I started to drum my fingers on the steering wheel and Lester shifted.

I took the letter out of my pocket. It was a copy of the letter Stephanie had sent her mom on her birthday. I smiled at the F. you at the end. I brushed my fingers against the letters, almost seeing her writing it. You could see small spots on the letter, and I suspected that she had cryed when she wrote it and I felt terrible taking her privacy away from her. Still the letter gave me hope and everything I needed to make it through the day.

I watched an old lady rush over the street towards us. She looked carefully at us and clearly thought about calling the police. Good thing I had my fake badge! I took it out of the glove department and showed it to her. She visibly relaxed and waved at us. We waved back. Lester chuckled in the back seat. My phone rung.

"Charles Brown don't own any houses but his wife Charlotte does. She owns a large house, almost like a mansion just outside the city. About 30 minutes drive, I'll send you the address."

* * *

Stephanie POV

Cindy was beyond good. She had finished early so that I could have more time to choose my clothes. I stood in my walk-in closet, wearing only a lacy underwear set. I had my hand on my hips as I looked at the clothes. I wanted to wear something sexy, just to provoke him but at the same time I wanted to wear my sweat pants and my gym-shirt. This was just a business meeting and there was no need to worry. It wasn't like he was the president. No, he was Ranger, and that was probably worse. I walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

My hair was pulled in a relaxed bun which was still formal. Cindy had boosted my black hair color and now it was as dark as it got. She had made my face seem more heart shaped and I wore midnight blue contact lenses. They looked eery against my pale skin and black hair. She had elongated my lashes and they were huge, still looking natural. My lips were fuller and painted with a slightly red lipstick and my teeth were whiter. I turned around to see my back. She had painted a tattoo on my right shoulder blade. It was a Chinese sign for peace. She had made my bust a cup larger and I now had the perfect hourglass figure. I traced my hand across the small scar on my stomach wher I had been shot, it was lighter than the rest of my skin. I sighed and realised that I was now the smoking hot Charlotte Brown not Stephanie Plum. I was sure that they wouldn't recognize me, as it was hard for me too.

I walked back to the closet and pulled out a specially made evening gown I had bought for situations like this. It was blue, almost black and was full length. It was strapless and fitted until it reached thighs where it flared slightly. There was a huge slit to as high as it could get without showing my panties on the left side. It was simple, elegant and sexy. I pulled it on and chose a pair of silver high heels with real diamonds embedded on the heel. I loved the way they sparkled as the light hit them. I glanced at the mirror and walked to the hall closet, pulling out my favourite gun, strapping it on my left thigh so it showed when I walked. Man, I was mean.

I called Adam as I walked back to the bedroom.

"Hi handsome!" I said with a nervous voice.

"Don't worry about him. Our contacts say that they have landed about twenty minutes ago and are heading this way. Disarm them?" His voice was tense, but excited in the same way. I shook my head and smiled. Adam loved a good fight.

"Yeah, don't want any trouble." I answered him and stopped in front of my pillow cup board. I fell silent and tried to figure out what emotion I was feeling.

"I would choose red if I were you." Adam said to me, knowing what I was doing. I heard the smile in his voice and glanced at the list of colors and their meaning which was taped to the inside of the doors. Red, the color of love, warmth, hatred and worriness. It also made the human mind to make faster choices.

"Thanks." I replied to Adam as I dragged the pillows and blankets on the bed, returning to the cup board with the light blue ones. I heard him laugh in the other end. I picked blue towels for the bathroom, blue meaning harmony and calmness. As I threw the used towels in the laundry chute I heard him tense up. His breathing was more regulated.

"They're coming." his voice showed more excitement than worry. I giggled.

"Have fun. Don't kill anyone."

"Yes, mom." he chuckled and hung up. I hurried to my office where I had monitors of all of the security cameras. I looked at camera one. A black SUV was nearing the gate.

* * *

Ranger POV

We drove to the house and exited the freeway onto a small drive way. The road was paved and large oaks grew on the both sides of the road. This was as British as it could get. There were open fields on both sides but as we drove forward it was replaced with trees. The view was gorgeous. As we had driven for a couple of minutes I slowed down. The sight in front of us was magnificent.

A huge Victorian house appeared in front of us. It had three stories and a huge front yard. Three cars were parked by a garage at the right side of the house. A large fountain was placed in the middle of the yard. I stopped at the open gate. This was a bounty hunters worst nightmare. Large windows and trees, there was about one hundred ways to hide from our sight. I noticed that Tank was agitated. He glanced at me.

"This don't feel right." he said to me and I could hear the strain on his voice. I nodded to him and glanced at the two sitting in the back. They too, were worried.

"Let's just hope they aren't that hostile."

As soon as I said those words my car door was opened and I was forced on the ground. By the groans and upset muttering, I wasn't the only one. Somebody held a gun to my head and patted me down for any guns. They removed all three. Dammit, I was held at gunpoint by strangers, in another country and I had no weapons. Could this get any worse?

* * *

Stephanie POV

I watched with mixed emotions the gate-camera footage. I was worried, happy, angry and strangely calm all at the same time. I shifted my weight and bite my perfectly manicured nails. Cindy was going to throw a fit.

Luckily the take down went smoothly. They didn't even see it coming. I beamed, proud of the guys taking down worlds second best bounty hunter and his top team. I saw them drag them towards the house and that Frank drove their car to the garage. I took a deep breath and exited the office. As I walked down the stairs I could hear some upset muttering from the first floor. I paused at the second floor to gather myself and with a deep breath I walked down the stairs, stopping halfway to admire the sight in front of my eyes.

Ranger had Tank, Lester and Cal with him. That didn't surprise me at all, he was too much of a coward to come alone. They were all standing by the door surrounded by my team. Adam was near Ranger and I saw in his eyes that he would like to hurt him. Michelle, Oscar and Mark where standing with Frank, securing the rest of the guys with out even cuffing them. Ranger would have cuffed us if we tried to break into his office. As I descended their eyes focused on me and could feel them staring at me. I couldn't blame them, I was beyond sexy. Adam broke the silence.

"Look what the cat brought in, darling." he said to me and smiled at the reaction Ranger got. He glanced at Adam and then back at me. I descended the rest of the stairs stopping at the bottom. The stares continued.

"Well, well, well." I said. "It's our colleagues from America who think they are better than us." I was angry at them, well only at Ranger but they had came with him. I controlled my voice and smiled.

"Not so tough now, are you?" I said and walked towards them. Their eyes focused now on my thigh, or probably the gun there. I stopped a few steps from them, crossing my arms.

"Why are you here?" I asked them, still with the controlled anger. They all looked at Ranger. He looked at me and smiled.

"Very nice. I assume that you are Charlotte?" I felt like punching him. I looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes. And you are Ricardo Carlos Manoso from Trenton NJ also known as Ranger. You have a daughter in Miami and family in Trenton. You are divorced from Rachel who lives with your daughter in Miami. She's remarried to a man named Ron. You founded RangeMan, who until recently was the best security company in the world. You have buildings around the states, including one in Trenton, Miami, Boston and Atlanta. You have with you the man you call Tank, Lester Santos and Cal Stevens. They all work for you in the Trenton office. There is seven floors on the Trenton office, and the seventh is your personal apartment. Can I stop here or do you want the full layout of your offices?"

I watched how the smile was replaced with a grimace of horror. I had to fight the urge to laugh. I know, that was evil but I couldn't help it. His arrogant expression when he had asked if I was Charlotte had pushed me of the edge. I saw that Adam was trying hard to control the urge to laugh. I composed myself.

"Now why are you here?" I asked him again, now with a harder voice.

"I.. I don't know what to say.." It was the first time Ranger was the loss of words. He stood there with his mouth open staring at the floor. I turned my attention to Tank.

"Can you tell me why you are here before my patience runs out?"

"We decided to come here to check you guys out as we didn't know you. We thought it might be for the best if we met and discussed business." His voice was controlled and he looked me straight in the eye as he spoke. He told me the truth, no silly non-sense and I was glad about that. I smiled and nodded thank you for him.

"Do you want to stay here with us?" I asked Tank again. "It's a horribly dull drive from London and the hotels aren't worth the money you pay for the room. I have a guest house if you would like to stay?" I asked him kindly. "Follow me and we'll give you a little privacy so you can talk freely." I led the way to the formal living room just across the hall. It was decorated with whites and greens and the back wall was glass so you could see the lake and the spacious yard. In the middle of the room were three white couches and a light green chair. Large paintings of the sea and hills hung on the wall. I opened the double doors to the room and let them go in, then I turned to go back. Before I exited the door, leaving them alone I turned to them.

"Don't run, we wont be as kind the next time." I said and gave them the sweetest smile. I walked out and closed the door. I turned to the guys standing in the hall.

"Frank, Oscar watch the door. Michelle go out back in case the notice the doors to the yard. Be discreet. Mark search the car." I said to them and smiled. They smiled back.

"If I didn't know you I would be scared to death." Mark said to me and chuckle. "That's the way you handle things."

I laughed with him and then turned to Adam.

"Yes?" he stated and took my hand. I glanced back into the room and saw that the guys were still looking at us. I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for everything. Now let's go make some tea."

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**Reviews? Pretty please? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I love you all**

**Not mine, not making money**

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_Steph POV_

We scurried to the kitchen. It was large, warm and welcoming. There was large doors leading to the yard and the space was divided in half by an island. Between the doors and island were a very large wooden dining table which fit us all. The kitchen cupboards were made out of cherry tree and the counters were white marble. There were large fruit baskets on the island and the sink was located there too. I sat down on the small, red bar chair which was beside the island. I watched as he filled two glasses with water from the fridge. Then I started to laugh.

I laughed so hard that I felt my eyes tear up. I tried to calm down, taking deep breaths but when I looked at Adam I burst out laughing again. I laughed and laughed and fell of my chair, but continued laughing harder and harder on the floor. I could hear Adam laughing with me, or at me, but I didn't care. I was becoming more and more hysterical.

I realized that the laugh had at some point turned to crying as salty tears ran down my cheeks. I felt Adam pick me up and lifted me so that I was sitting on the kitchen counter. I wrapped my arms around him and he hugged me closer. I leaned my head on his shoulder and wrapped my legs around him too. This wasn't sexual in any way, I just need somebody to hold me. I pressed myself against him and he stroked my back.

After what seemed like eternity my tears dried and I lifted my head too look at Adam. He seemed sad and hugged me tightly before letting me go. He held my hand still and reached for the glass of water giving it to me. I drank it fast and watched him walking past the fridge, going for a cupboard at the back of the kitchen. I knew what he was doing. I watched as he opened the doors and stood there, thinking about something, then reaching in to get something. He walked back to me with his hands behind his back, smiling at me and I couldn't help but to laugh at his manner. He stopped right in front of me, still hiding something from from me.

"Are you ready?" he asked me and winked.

"I think I am." I said to him my voice fake-serious but giggled. I reached my hand out and watched him place a pink cup cake on it. I held cupcakes and other not-so-healthy foods in that cupboard, in case of a bad day. I ate the cup cake as Adam just looked at me. I glanced at him and the look he gave my cup cake was hilarious.

"Go on! Have a cup cake." I said and laughed as he rushed to the cupboard. He stood there for a longer time and then came to sit beside me on the island. We sat silently there, just eating our cup cakes. I sighed as the final crumb was eaten. I looked at him and laughed.

"Your face is blue!"

"Well I had to take the blue one! The rest of them were pink and I'm a man! I guess it was blueberry." His mouth was blue and when he talked I saw that his tongue was blue too. I laughed at him and hopped down dragging him with me.

"Come, you can't be scary if you look like a Smurf." He laughed and followed me down the hall to a bathroom. It was a small one with separate toilet and sink area. We stopped at the sinks and Adam washed his face. I took a tissue and cleaned my make-up. My mascara had run and I looked awful. I stopped when I had fixed the right eye. I glanced at Adam who was drying his face on a violet towel.

"I didn't realize that would be so hard." I whispered to him and he looked at me.

"I know honey, I know. Do you want to talk about it?" He took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled at him, wondering what I had done to deserve him.

"Yes. I didn't expect to feel what I felt for him. I thought.. Well I don't know what I thought but it wasn't that. I think love him still. But he don't love me. It's simple." I looked at my feet when I spoke. I heard him sigh and felt his hand on my cheek forcing me to look at him. His eyes were still sad.

"Honey, this is far from easy. But hey, let's talk later when we have more time. Remember that you have guests in the living room?"

He waited for me as I cleaned the other eye too. After I was finished I looked like a human being again. He took my hand and led the way to the living room. I took a deep breath and entered the room with Adam following close by.

Ranger and his men were sitting on the sofas and they looked tired. Tank stood up and the rest of them followed after. They looked uncertain as I had removed their guns and there was a lot of armed persons around them. I smiled at them and asked what they had decided.

"We like to accept the offer of staying here, if that's still possible." Tank said with the most polite way. I nodded at them and they relaxed a little.

"That's good." I said and turned to Adam. "Do we have any apartments empty in the guesthouse?"

"Yes, two on the second floor. Martin and Dianna have the week of. I think they are clean and ready." he said to me with a smile. This was just an act, I had asked this before they arrived and arranged for them to have those apartments as they were just beside the hall which had cameras so that we could monitor them if they left. I thanked him and turned to them.

"You are lucky. We have two apartments that are empty, now if you would follow us?" I held Adams hand and led the way through the door at the back, leading the way to the back yard.

The yard was huge and the two buildings were placed that together with the lake and the main building so that they built a inner yard. There was a swimming pool in the middle and a little terrace beside it with a little table and four chairs. There were three sitting there and they all waved at me. I waved back.

The building to the right side was the guest house. Both of them was made out of red brick and were three stories high. The main door was at the middle of the building and behind it was a large hall and stairs to the floors. I walked without any hurries, admiring the warm summer air. Adam squeezed my hand to reassure me that he would take care of me if necessary. I thanked God I had built pathways leading from house to house as my heels wouldn't have liked this. As we entered the building I looked behind to make sure that they were still following me. Ranger was looking at me like he had recognized me but then slightly shook his head to clear his mind. I sent a silent thank you to Cindy. I cleared my throat.

"Well, this is the guest house. There are guys upstairs that are working so please be quiet on the evenings and nights. Breakfast is served at 0600 in the main house. We'll get someone to help you the kitchen. Follow me, let's check the apartments."

I walked up the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to the right and walked in and the rest of them followed me. It was a small apartment with one bedroom and a living room with the kitchen attached. There was one small bathroom. This one was decorated with greys and whites and all it was clean. This was the apartment of Dianna and she always took her personal stuff with her on the weeks off. I watched as Ranger and Tank realized that their baggage was already sitting on the bed.

"The other one is the same, only mirrored. I guess that it leaves you two to share that one. It's Martin's and he'll be mad if you mess the place. And you don't want to get him angry at you." I said to them and watched as they walked to the other apartment. I turned back to Ranger and Tank.

"Do you have any questions?" I asked them and waited a while for them to think about it. "Well if you don't, I'll leave you to get settled." I glanced at my watch. "It's 4.36. We'll have dinner at 6 o'clock. I'll send someone to get you."

I smiled to them and excited the building fast. I felt that Adam followed me and I slowed down. Soon he was walking with me and I glanced at him. He was looking at me.

"You did that good. I know it was hard for you."

"Yeah." I sighed and took his hand. "I'm heading upstairs to change and maybe call some clients. Can you talk with the guys?"

"Sure, honey. I'll come get you to dinner so you can focus on the work and not worry about being late."

I nodded and watched as he headed for the basement. I frowned and walked up to my apartment and took of my heels. I entered the kitchen and fed Rex. I had to hide him from straight view. I took the cage and patted to the living room and put him on the window sil and pulled the curtains so that it was hidden from view. I sighed and headed for the closet to change. I hated how much I had sighed to day and wondered if it was wise to let them stay. Guess it was better now that I had them monitored.

I changed into a work T-shirt and capri-pants. The shirt was green and the pants where black and fitted. They had a small print of lilies at the bottom and I loved them. I pulled on a pair of furry socks and entered the office to take care of the business.

* * *

After two hours I had just rung one of our biggest clients the McDonaghues. They owned a large jewelery store just in the heart of London and sold gorgeous pieces of jewelery with a price that made you gasp for air. I had bought a necklace from them a month ago and had to stop buying shoes for two whole months. It was a magnificent art work, made out of silver. It was formed like a big heart and embedded with real diamonds. I loved it but had quite a few opportunities to wear it as it was so expensive and I hated to lose it. Any ways Larry McDonaghue was a bit paranoid and bought almost everything we had to offer him. He had recently opened stores in three other cities and we provided the security he wanted. Last week somebody had spray painted the store front at the London store and was furious about that and that we hadn't done our jobs. I had had to call him several times to explain to him that there's nothing we can do about it and encouraged him just to paint over the mess. Finally as I had rung him today he had accepted the facts and called a painter.

I sighed as I looked around the office. The sun's light poured in through the window and illuminated the wall with the family pictures. I stood up and walked closer to take a look at them.  
There was a total of nine pictures on the wall. One with my parents, one with me, Lula and Connie in the office. That one was taken at Halloween last year and we were all in costumes. I was dressed as Wonder woman, Lula as a super woman and Connie as a sexy secretary. I smiled at that picture, we had had so much fun that day as we had gone trick or treating. It was more tricking that treating. The next picture was taken the day after by Ranger. We had fallen asleep at the office, god knows why, and as he had come the ext morning to talk to Vinnie, he found us. Lula had passed out at the sofa and Connie and I had slept on the floor, her head in my lap. It was a bizarre scene.

I shifted my weight as I looked at the rest of the pictures. There was a picture of Ranger sitting in my kitchen feeding Rex with grape. He was so focused at the small animal in the cage. Rex was sitting on his back legs and reaching for the grape. I smiled and shook my head. The next picture was a funny one. It was a photo of grandma grabbing Tank's butt. His face was priceless, a mixture of horror and terror. I giggled at the photo. In the next photo was Valerie and her family. It was taken in a professional photo studio so that even one picture would be good, Valerie had told me. Pity that it hadn't worked. Mary Alice was sticking her tongue at the camera as the rest of them saw very formal. God, I loved that child.

The next was a group photo from RangeMan. There was everybody there, everybody long, tall and muscular except for me, standing in the middle of the group also laughing. I was a head shorter than the rest and the only woman. Lester was ruffling my hair and I had stuck my tongue out at him. It held a lot of dear memories and sometimes I felt home sick but then Adam cheered me up with a trip to the gun range or a walk by the lake. The following picture was a picture of Bob. He looked very happy as he stood in my kitchen. He had his tongue out of his mouth and eyes half-opened.

The picture that caused most heart break was the picture in the middle. It was the one I had showed to Cindy. Ranger hugging me and laughing at or with me and we both were so happy. The next thing I know is that he had been playing me the whole time. My heart had stopped and then shattered in tiny pieces and made it hard to breath. After I left Joe and started to date Ranger I had really trusted him. He had healed me and I loved him from the bottom of my heart. It killed me to know that he didn't and I mean that literally. Stephanie was dead and buried as far as I knew or at least caged somewhere dark. I was Charlotte now, fearless and beautiful woman who didn't had her heart broken by the man she thought loved her!

I fought the tears away as I sat on the edge of the desk. It had been a very hard day and it wasn't even six o'clock yet. I massaged my neck and picked up the phone, deciding that I could make one call before the dinner. I dialed the number and got into the business mode.

After finishing that I heard that somebody was on the way up and turned off the computer and took my gun and put it to my pocket. I exited the office as Adam stuck his head through the door. He seemed cheerful.

"Hi honey! Let's go eat!" I should have known, Adam loved to eat as much as I did. I took the hand he offered me and we hopped down the stairs. We were giggling like little girls as we hit the first floor. We ran to the kitchen, still giggling, he urging me on and hopped to our seats, me sitting on the end and Adam on my right side. It was then I realised that everybody else were sitting already at the table. I smiled politely at them and kicked Adam under the table. He kicked me back. I pulled my leg back so that I could get some strenght into my kick.

"Hey, stop that already. I swear that you are like kids." Michelle said to us and chuckled. I smiled at her and kicked Adam. He stuck his tongue out at me and we were interrupted by Michelle again.

"We have guests too, remember?"

I froze totally. I had forgot about them in the rush of excitement, and Adam had that effect on me. I glanced at the other end of the table and saw them watching me smiling. The hardest glance to meet was Rangers. He was looking at me with a frown. I looked away from him wondering if I had been discovered. I sincerely hoped not.

"Well... Let's eat then, we'll talk business tomorrow as I bet you are tired. So are we too, it's been a hard day. The kitchen is always open if you get hungry." I added as they were new to our routine. I looked at the rest of them and they didn't have anything to add so we dug in. I saw that there was mashed potato and steak with salad today. I ate all of it and watched everybody eat. My eyes turned to Ranger and his crew. Ranger was talking, occasionally glancing at me. The frown hadn't disappeared and I was becoming more worried by the second. I crossed my hands and turned to Adam.

"You think they know?" I whispered to him. He looked up from his steak and glanced at the guests. He shrugged.

"I don't know. I'll ask around if you want to." he offered and I nodded. He returned to the food. I turned to Michelle, sitting a few chairs away.

"Hey, Michelle, do you want to come to the spa with me today?" I asked and Ranger's crew turned their attention at me. "Could do good after a day like this."

"'Course I will, have I never said no?" she laughed and ate a piece of tomato. "I'll go change after dinner."

I smiled and nodded and watched Ranger. He took a look at me.

"Spa?" he asked confused.

"We have a little spa on the first floor as well as a gym. There is also two living rooms and this kitchen. You are free to use them. There is also the pool outside if you like to use that one too. You are not allowed on the second or third floor as they are living spaces." I explained to them and saw him nod at me and return to his food. I excused myself and walked to my apartment to change into bikini's.

I owned about ten bikini's but I chose the blue-white striped one with the halter neck bra. I changed into them and pulled a robe over that. I pulled my hair into a bun and slid my feet into some pink flip-flops. I changed the gun to a smaller one and fed Rex. I took a look at my apartment, headed back and changed the pillows and blankets back to light blue. I was pleased with that and walked to the spa.

The spa was located behind the kitchen and living room in the back. I walked through the living room and saw no one but that wasn't a surprise. At this hour the guys would be on a run or working in the basement. Michelle had been working since very early and she had finished her work so she could join me at the spa.

As I entered I saw that she was already sitting in the hot tub. The spa included a hot tub, a pool and massage rooms where also mani/pedi's were done. I smiled at her and walked over the blue tiles to the hot tub and sunk in. I relaxed and moaned at the feeling of the warm water against my aching muscles. We sat there silently for a while, me with closed eyes.

"So?" Michelle asked me and I opened my eyes so I could look at her. She looked excited and happy and sad at the same time. I sighed.

"I have this weird feeling when I'm in the same room with him. I don't know. It's weird." I said expressing my angstiety to her.

She looked at me and reached out to squeeze my shoulder.

"It'll be okay, you'll figure this out."

"Yeah" I answered and sighed again. "I think I still love him even though I hate him."

"Of course you do. That kind of love don't disappear like that. You'll just have to figure his feelings." she answered me and sunk in deeper in the tub. I could only see her face now.

"I know what he thinks! You know that, I told you. He don't love me, it's simple." I was becoming frustrated and angry at the same time. A dangerous combination.

"It's not simple. You force it to be simple, but it's not." she murmured from the water.

I sighed. She was right as usual.

After sitting there and talking for hours we left the spa and walked up to our apartments. I flicked on the lights and patted to the closet to change into something comfortable to sleep in. I chose a pair of hot pants and decided to take a Brown shirt instead the shirt Ranger had once wore and I had took with me. It would be a heck of a job to explain that one to Ranger or one of his men. I yawned and closed the curtains and climbed into the bed. Soon I fell asleep.

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_Steph POV_

I felt weird. I sat up in the bed and checked the clock. 1.32 AM. The apartment was dark and quiet. I stood up, grabbed my gun and patted to the office to check the monitors. They all looked fine and then I froze. Ranger was climbing the stairs obliviously searching the house. I grabbed the gun properly and excited to stand in the hall hidden from view. I was going to teach him a lesson. I waited a while with various emotions going through me until I heard the sound of footsteps outside my door. A hand turned the handle and opened the door. Then he stepped inside.

Before he could say or do anything I had him pressed agaist the floor. I was angry with him, entering my home without invitation. I put my foot on his back and leveled the gun with his head.

"Don't move or I'll shoot you. " I exclaimed and lifted my foot. I backed a few steps and swiched the lights on. Ranger was laying on my hall floor.

"You can stand up now." I said to him with a little softer voice. He looked scared as he looked at my gun so I lowered it but didn't put it away. He wore a typical outfit by RangeMan, a black t-shirt and cargo pants. He looked at my outfit.

I had a pair of silver hot pants on and a black t-shirt and my hair was pulled to a bun. I stood there in the hall with my gun and Ranger and I felt beyond uncomfortable. The sparks were there again. I swallowed.

"What are you doing here?" I barked at him, taking the easy way out. Anger.

"I wanted to see you and ask you a question." He had his hands in the air and had his eyes focused on my face. His face blanked out as he waited for my answer.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" I was confused and worried. And the Stephanie part of me was estastic.

He lowered his hands and shifted his weight nervously. He glanced at his shoes and sighed. He looked like would go crazy.

"My friend is missing and as you knew Europe, I thought that you might know where she is. And you look a bit like her. Her name is Stephanie Plum."

_Holy shit._

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**Reviews, please? :)**_  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5!**

**It's Ranger's PoV from the earlier two chapters. I'm not so good at writing from his PoV but hopefully you like it :)**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews, I love you all**

**Not mine, not making any money**

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_Ranger POV_

As soon as my guns were removed I was harshly lifted up and led towards the house. The man that had captured me was tall, almost as tall as I was and looked very annoyed. I guess I would be too if somebody was trespassing my property without any warning and armed. I glanced to my right and saw that the rest of the guys were in the same boat as I was in. Tank was hold by a enormous guy dressed in black and had CB on the t-shirt back. At least we were at the right address. Tank looked pissed and I knew that he thought it was his fault that we were catched. I hope he knew that I didn't think so.

Behind Tank was Lester and Cal. I hadn't been expecting who their captures were. On was a woman, but I knew from previous occasions that women were as good as men were. They were like big cats, silent, beautiful and they strike when you expect it the least. Lester was looking at the woman who led him with that stupid smirk he had on his face every time there was somebody from the opposite sex near by. Cal looked confused and a bit embarrassed. His guy was a head taller than he was and almost as talkative as he was.

I turned my attention back to the guy holding me. He glanced at me and smiled. The smile made me uncomfortable. The smile a cat has on it's face when it has trapped a mouse.

We were now walking in the shade of the huge mansion and I felt the adrenaline pump up. This place smelled like death. Well not literary, it smelled summer and roses. The guy next to me opened the huge wooden door and we stepped into the hall. I let my eyes adjust to the lighting and then I saw it. The hall was huge and there was two doors on either side of us. I could smell food to my right side so I guessed the kitchens were there. I had no idea what was on the left side. There was a beige carpet on the floor, muffling the noise of footsteps. A large fireplace was on the left side. On the wall against us were glass doors leading to a living room with large furniture. The sun poured in from windows. We stood there silently. I was becoming agitated.

"Stand still for crying out loud!" The woman next to Lester said. She looked pissed of and I could see that this was going to end badly for Lester.

"Stand still, Santos!" I barked and tried to hide the stress in my voice. Lester froze and the woman looked relieved.

Our attention shifted to the stairs as soft steps were heard. A woman appeared in the middle and she paused to look at us. She was gorgeous in her blue evening gown. Her black hair was pulled back into a bun and her eyes sparkled. She looked familiar in a distant way. My brain worked overtime trying to place the face. Her blue eyes cut to me and she looked curious. And pissed. She was Charlotte Brown.

She walked down the last steps and I was surprised how small she was. She was taller than Stephanie had been but so much slimmer and more toned. This woman was pure muscle but still in a femine way. Her dress fit her perfectly and made her look lethal. I guess that she was too. As I looked at her I felt weird, like I should remember something.

"Look what the cat brought in, darling." the man beside me said, breaking the silence. I glanced at the man and then at the woman. I knew she was Charlotte Brown so the man must be Charles. I hadn't picutred him to look like that.

"Well, well, well." she said. "It's our colleagues from America who think they are better than us." She sounded very angry and I became confused. Why did she think we thought we were better than they were? She took a deep breath, as if she tried to control herself, and then smiled. That didn't put me at ease. This woman was lethal and I was honestly scared of her. She seemed like she could do anything. Not even ten story tall men had this effect on me.

"Not so tough now, are you?" She said to us and walked toward us. My eyes indistinctly went to her legs and I noticed that she had a huge slit on her dress. The gun that was strapped on her thigh made me swallow, she was not messing around. She stopped and the gun was out of sight again. She crossed her arms.

"Why are you here?" she snapped at us. I could feel the guys looking at me to explain, it had after all been my idea to fly here. I tried with a friendly approach and smiled at her.

"Very nice." Complements always help out. " I assume you are Charlotte?" She glared at me.

"Yes. And you are Ricardo Carlos Manoso from Trenton NJ also known as Ranger. You have a daughter in Miami and family in Trenton. You are divorced from Rachel who lives with your daughter in Miami. She has remarried to a guy named Ron. You founded RangeMan, who until recently was the best security company in the world. You have buildings around the states, in cluding one in Trenton, Miami, Boston and Atlanta. You have with you the man you call Tank, Lester Santos and Cal Stevens . They all work for you in the Trenton office. Can I stop here or do you want the full lay-out of your offices?"

Who was she? How did she know all of this, nobody except my employees and not even all of them knew this. My smile change into a grimace. The security I had had fell away and I felt exposed. Naked.

"Now why are you here?"she asked again. I had lost my ability to talk.

"I.. I don't know what to say.." I said to her with a confused voice. I stared at my feet trying hard to get a grip.

"Can you tell me why you are here before my patience runs out?" she said to Tank.

"We decided to come here to check you guys out as we didn't know you. We thought it might be for the best if we met and discussed business." His voice was controlled.

"Do you want to stay here with us?" She asked Tank again. "It's a horribly dull drive from London and the hotels aren't worth the money you pay for the room. I have a guest house if you would like to stay?" She asked him kindly. "We'll give you a little privacy."

We were led through the hall into the living room. I was spacious and airy and decorated with greens and whites. We sat down on the couches and stared at her as she was leaving. Right as she was at the doors, she turned.

"Don't run, we wont be as kind the next time." She said with a sweet smile and closed the door. We watched as the people outside the door laughed and she glanced at us. Then she kissed that Charles cheek and they left. The others spread out, my guess would be to secure the property. Finally we were alone.

"Wow..." Lester murmured and leaned against the back of the sofa. "That was one heck of a lady."

Us others agreed with him and then fell into silence.

"So, what do you think?" I asked them after a while.

"Yeah, why not? I mean that drive is quite dull." Cal said and shrugged. Lester nodded.

We agreed on staying, just to check them out and figure a cleaver way of doing things. Silence again.

"Did you notice that the lady looked distantly like Steph?" Tank said after a while. Heads turned to him and he shrugged.

"Just saying. It's kinda eery. "

Without giving us anymore time to think she marched into the room again with the others. We stood up and I let Tank lead the way, so I could look at her. She did look like her in a distant way. The shape of her eyes and face matched hers but that's about it. My heart fluttered.

"We like to accept the offer of staying here, if that's still possible." Tank said with the most polite way. She nodded to us and we relaxed a little bit. Not much though, but so much we could in this situation.

"That's good." She said and turned to Charles. "Do we have any apartments empty in the guesthouse?"

"Yes, two on the second floor. Martin and Dianna have the week of. I think they are clean and ready." he said to her with a smile. I didn't like this guy but I couldn't tell you why, I just didn't.

"You are lucky. We have two apartments that are empty, now if you would follow us?" She took the guys hand and led the way through the door at the back, leading the way to the back yard.

It was a inner yard, formed by the main house and the two others. A lake could be seen in the horizon. A large swimming pool was placed in the middle and a terrace with three persons sitting it. They smiled and waved at Charlotte who waved back. I couldn't see one camera but I knew they were there.

We were led into the house on the right side and up the stair to the second floor. She opened a little door on the right side and motioned us to go inside. The apartment was styled with greys, metal's and whites. There was no personal stuff and our bags were placed on a bed in the bedroom. So they had decided that we would stay no matter what we thought.

She sent Lester and Cal across the hall and left us alone. I sat on the couch in the living room and sighed.

"She looks a bit like her. Maybe like a cousin or something.." I said to Tank who was in the kitchen checking the fridge.

"Yeah.. Quite a coicidence." he muttered and returned to the bedroom. "I'm so sleeping on the bed, you can sleep on the couch if you think you can't handle me."

I chuckled and decided that it would be for the best if I slept in the living room. I picked up a phone on a side table and read a list above it with different numbers. I dialed the one named "Main house."

"Hello." A man's voice answered to me.

"Hum, It's Carlos Manoso from the guest house." I answered him as I looked at Tank unpacking.

"Yes. What can I do for you?" he voice said to me and could hear somebody in the back.

"I would like another blanket, if possible?" There was two pillows but only one blanket.

"There is a cupboard on the hall at first floor in the guest house and there's loads of pillows and blankets."

"Oh, Thank you" I said and hoped I hadn't disturbed the guy in any way. I said good bye and hung up. Then I heard that Tank was taking a shower so I left to hunt me a blanket. I exited the apartment and walked the stairs down. I had noticed the cameras so I tried to be as polite as possible. I noticed the cup board under the stairs and opened it. The guy was right there was a ton of pillows and blankets to choose from. I took a black one and closed the door. As I walked up the stairs Cal walked down.

"No way I'm sleeping with Lester in the same bed." he muttered to me as he walked past me.

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_Ranger POV_

We were picked up by the guy I suspected to be Charles at fifteen to six. He led the way though the garden.

"So how do you know Mrs. Brown?" I asked him. He glanced at me and decided that he could tell me.

"I met her way back. I'm her first employee." his voice was tired.

"Okay." I said to him and we fell back into silence.

"So, where's Mr. Brown?" Tank asked soon after that.

"Abroad. He's hunting a skip." He looked straight ahead and I didn't believe him one bit but let it go.

We walked into the house and I had been right about the location of the kitchen. The kitchen was large and welcoming and there was people sitting by the table. We sat down at the other end of the table and the guy left. We waited for a while and then we heard the noice of people running down stairs. One of the woman shook her head.

Charlotte and the guy ran inside and hopped on their seats across the table. It looked like they were kicking each other.

"Hey, stop that already. I swear that you are like kids." The woman said to them with a chuckle. Charlotte smiled at her and kicked the guy again. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"We have guests too, remember?"

I saw that Charlotte had been caught by surprise. She stared at us smiling at her. I couldn't help but to frown, she might know something about Stephanie and her.. disappearance.

"Well... Let's eat then, we'll talk business tomorrow as I bet you are tired. So are we too, it's been a hard day. The kitchen is always open if you get hungry." She added and we nodded. I saw that there was steak on the meny and dug in. It had been over eight hours since I last ate. I talked to my guys at the same time.

"I mean, she behaves herself like Stephanie." I said to them and was caught looking at her. She looked away and talked to the guy.

"Yeah... But I don't think Stephanie would have invited us over." Lester said with his mouth full of steak. I heard Charlotte talk to the woman about a spa.

"Spa?" I asked her.

She explained things to us, then she left the table. We too were finished so we excused us as well and walked back to the guesthouse. We decided that we could go swimming and arranged that we would meet by the pool in ten minutes.

* * *

_Ranger POV._

The clock was nearing half two and I couldn't sleep. I lay there looking at the ceiling and sighed. I stood up and silently dressed and walked towards the main house. I needed to talk to Charlotte about Stephanie. I opened the back door and snuck up to second floor where I hid in the shadows. I could guess that she lived on the third floor and tip-toed up the stairs. Now I had a dilemma, which one was it. I guessed and turned the door handle on the door to the right. It opened and I stepped inside.

As soon as my feet touched the ground I was pressed against the floor with my face pressed at the carpet. Sombody had their gun at my head and foot against my back, I layed silently.

"Don't move or I'll shoot you!" I heard Charlotte's voice say to me and the weight of the foot disappeared. The lights got switched on and I got the permission to stand up. I was standing in a hall with a chandelier and table. There was many doors. Charlotte aimed at me with her gun. I saw that it wasn't the same one she had earlier. She was dressed in hot pants and black t-shirt. I felt sparks in my heart but decided to ignore them, that's what I'd been doing the whole day.

"Why are you here?" She barked at me, angry because I hadn't followed the rules.

"I wanted to see you and ask you a question." I said to her and saw her become guarded.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" She sounded worried and shifted her weight.

I lowered my hands and sighed. I couldn't bear the fact if she didn't know where she was. She was my last clue.

"My friend is missing and as you knew Europe, I thought that you might know where she is. And you look a bit like her. Her name is Stephanie Plum." I looked at her and saw her face go pale.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worried that she might faint. She shook her head as to try to compose herself.

"I'm fine. What do you want from my cousin anyway?" she asked me and I suddenly felt numb and like my feet would give in. I leaned on the table for some support. She knew her!

"I want to talk to her and tell her I didn't mean it and that I'm sorry." I said the truth in case she saw her. She looked pissed off but also insecure.

"She told me what you had done to her. _You killed her._" She whispered to me, looking hurt.

"I don't know why I said so, I meant to say yes but... "I sighed. "So you're her cousin?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Yes. I'm Vinnie's little sister." She looked at me and put the gun at the table.

"Really? I wonder why I haven't heard about you before this... fiasco?"

"They don't talk about me as I ran away when I was 13. Was a disgrace to the family." she said and looked at the watch.

"It's getting late and I need to sleep. Can we please continue later?" she said and opened the door for me. I walked out and watched her close the door behind me.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter six!**

**Thanks for the reviews, ILOVEU**

**Not mine, not makin' money**

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_Steph PoV_

I closed the door after him and breathed out as soon as I heard his steps on the stairs. Oh my freaking God! Shit, shit, shit! I leaned on the wall besides the door and focused on breathing properly, in and out, in and out. After a while my breathing became more normal. Thank God Adam and I had come up a plan b if he would have recognized me. Vinnie's cousin who ran away. I can't believe he fell for it. I made my way to the bedroom but couldn't fall back to sleep. Thoughts raced through my mind, the worst case scenarios and the rest of them. But I couldn't figure out what the worst case scenario was. Would it be that he discovered who I was or that he didn't? I felt sick and rushed to the bathroom.

After I had washed my teeth again I patted across the hall with my gun in my hand and to Adam's apartment. It felt safe here. Not any of Ranger's delicious scent, not the picture of him standing in my hall... Wait stop that, I hate him! I had to remind myself of that. I checked that the apartment was empty and then climbed into his bed and crept closer to him. He was warm from the sleep and mumbled something as I pressed my cold toes against his warm calf. I smiled and snuggled closer as his arms pulled me in. I breathed deeply and drifted of to dream land.

I woke up to the sound of a alarm clock. I was tangled in Adam's sheets and him as well. He had his arms around me and I had my feet tangled with his. I groaned and lifted my head from the warmth of his shoulder and thought about shooting the annoying little thing but settled for turning it off. 5.15 AM. I rested my head against him again and felt him sigh.

"We'll have a sleep in today." I murmured to him and he relaxed. "They can manage it without us for a couple of hours."

He mumbled an, what I thought was, agreement. I sighed and relaxed. Soon I fell asleep in his warm embrace.

When I woke up the next time it was close to nine. I sighed and saw that Adam was still sound asleep. I couldn't figure out why I had woken up but then I heard the noise of the apartment door opening. Adam's eyes opened and he sat up silently and reached for his gun. I rolled over and took my gun from the bedside table. The metal felt cold against my skin. There was no tiredness left as I pointed the gun at the door.

Somebody knocked on the door and waited. I glanced at Adam who looked confused. Murderers don't knock on doors. I didn't relax.

"Come in." Adam said and the door opened to reveal Michelle and Lester. They were both dressed in black, with the exception of Michelle's bright pink watch. They both looked at us, Michelle like she's seen it before and Lester looking smug. We lowered the gun's and Adam laid back down and pulled the covers over his head, muttering something about irritating idiots. I smiled at the pile of covers that was Adam and looked back at the guys standing at the door. Michelle smiled at me.

"Rough night, huh? Sorry to bother you but this annoying little thing wanted to see you and since you weren't at the breakfast I thought it migt be best to wait a couple of hours." She pointed at Lester at the 'thing' bit and shrugged. I glanced at Lester who looked annoyed by the description.

I sighed, but it wasn't a bad sigh. Then I stood up and threw the rest of the covers above Adam. There was no movement underneath them. I shook my head and headed for the door. Michelle and Lester followed me and I stretched as I walked across the hall. I opened the door and waited for them to go inside. Michelle shook her head.

"I've got rounds to do but I'll see you later, okay?"

I nodded and watched her run down the stairs. I tuned my attention to Lester who leaned against the door frame. I smiled at him.

"Let's go inside. I haven't had breakfast yet so let's talk in the kitchen." I said to him and led the way to the kitchen. I saw him sit down by the island and turned for the fridge. "You want something? I'm making a sandwich."

"Okay." he said and I noticed that he was looking around. I took the bread and some ham and cheese and started to make two sandwiches. He was silent as he watched me do my thing. When I was done I handed him his sandwich.

"Thanks, Steph."

I froze. Did he know who I was? Oh my freaking God! Breath, I reminded myself and sat down. He was eating his sandwich, looking at me over it.

"Relax, Ranger doesn't know." he said and stood up and walked to the fridge. He took the milk out and sat back down.

"How.. How do you know?" I whispered to him and leaned my head against my hands.

"After last night Ranger came back to the guesthouse and wanted to talk to everybody. So he told me what you had said and ordered me to run a search in the morning. So we went back to sleep and I ran the searches and come up with nothing. Then I figured it out. I asked that Michelle to let me talk to you and here we are. I haven't told Ranger yet. I thought I'd talk to you first." He said and returned to the sandwich. "This is one heck of a sandwich."

"Thanks" I said. Thoughts were running through my brain. "And thanks for talking to me first."

"No problem. I mean I'm on your side in this mess. He's an ass."

I smiled at him and took a deep breath. This is going to be just fine, I told myself and took a bite out of my sandwich.

"So what's been happening?" I asked him as he swallowed the last bit of the sandwich. As I wasn't that hungry anymore I gave him my sandwich and took an apple instead.

"Ranger's gone. I mean, he's lost his edge, you know? He stays at seventh, letting Tank manage the business. He don't talk to anyone and is obsessed in finding you. Points for you though, the trail goes cold at Washington DC: We've taught you right. Anyway, so CB goes past him and he goes ballistic and we fly here. He's got that letter you sent your mom on her birthday in his pocket and with him all the time. It's kinda freaky. So we drive here and the next thing I know, I'm eating the dust of your driveway. Never saw it coming." he smiled at me and finished the 'wich while I'm sitting there not believing my ears.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked me and returned the milk back to the fridge. So I told him, about the flight, arriving, Adam and the rest and everything up to this point. He listened carefully and nodded at the right time. Everybody might not know it but Lester Santos is the worlds best listener. I finished the story and the apple. I stood up and he followed me to my bedroom. He sat on the bed waiting as I put some clothes on. I choose a pair of dark shorts and turquoise top as it was near 25 degrees C (77 degrees F) out. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked back out. He was sitting on the same spot I left him and I smiled to him. He helped me to make the bed and then I headed for the cup board. He followed me.

"What's this?" he asked when he saw the pillows.

"It's my blankets and pillows. I change them according to my mood." I answered and studied the shelves.

"So, yesterday you were calm and relaxed?" he said reading the list.

"Yes, after I changed the red ones away." I answered and grabbed the multicolored ones, confused. I threw them on the bed and walked to my gun closet. Lester whistled as I opened the doors.

"Wow." he said.

"Yeah. I like to keep my employees safe." I said and took my favorite handgun from the shelf. I put it in the back of my shorts and closed the door. "I'll get your guns back today."

"Thanks" Lester answered and looked pleased. I knew ho much they hated to be without them. We exited the apartment and I ran in to see if Adam's awake. The bed was empty so I figured he had and ran back to Lester and walked down the stairs.

"So... What are you going to tell Ranger?" I asked him as we landed on second floor.

"That I had asked to use your computer to do a search, not telling you what search and that Vinnie goes has a sister named Charlotte." he answered with and even I believed him. I smiled.

"Thanks. I owe you."

We landed on the first floor and he walked towards the guesthouse to tell Ranger the news. I watched him a while and then walked through the kitchen and to the basement.

There was full mayhem in the computer room as there was at least 20 persons doing searches and watching the monitors. I did a fast round and when I was satisfied, I walked to the little gym we had in the basement to sweat out my miseries.

* * *

After I had taken a shower I walked back to control room/computer room and saw that Adam was standing watching the noticeboard. I walked over and stood besides him.

"Hey."

"Hey." he answered and smiled at me. "You scared me half to death with your ice cold toes last night."

"Sorry." I said and glanced at the board. There in the middle was Ranger's e-mail to me. "Lester knows."

"He does?" he said surprised.

"Yeah, but that's okay. He won't tell Ranger." I said and looked at the other notes on the board. One caught my attention. Carl Petrucha had been realised from Wandsworth prison. He was the one who had shot me, trying to kill me. My hand went instinctively to the scar on my stomach, an inch above my bellybutton. He had promised that he'd hunt me down and finish what he had started. I shivered.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe here." Adam said and hugged me.

"It's not myself that I'm worried about. It's everybody else that I'm worried about. You'll get yourself killed."

"You have trained us well, no maniac's going to stop us." I smiled at his attempt to cheer me up.

"I need a cup cake and bad."

Adam led my way up to the kitchen and the cup board. I took one banana-chocolate muffin and sat down by the table. Just then Ranger and his crew walked in. Lester winked at me and I smiled. Ranger looked confused and decided to ignore that and walked to the sink to drink some water.

"I don't want to alarm you guys, but a Carl Petrucha has been realised from a nearby prison and he got some bad feelings against me. I don't think you'll be in danger but keep close to the house and your eyes open. I'll get your guns back soon." I said to them and they nodded calmly, all but Lester. He seemed more panicked than the others and I hoped he didn't blow the cover. I mouthed 'I'll talk to you later' and he relaxed a bit.

"Thank you for the heads up." Ranger said as he dried his face on a towel. "We thought we'll head for the gym now."

"Okay. Can I talk to Santos a moment. It's about the computer you borrowed." I said and Ranger nodded. They left and Lester walked over to the table and sat down.

"You want to hear about Petrucha?" I asked and he nodded. I told him the story, showed him the scar and he looked grim.

"That son of a bitch." he said and clenched his fists. Adam nodded at him, agreeing with that assessment.

"It's fine, just keep your eyes open." I said and looked up as Mark walked into the room with a bag. He set it on the table and ruffled my hair.

"Here's the guns. Hey I want to challenge you in swimming again. My ego's healed again." he said, referring to a time a few weeks ago when we had raced in swimming, me winning.

"You sure? Don't want that big ego of yours getting all bruised again." I answered to him. He laughed and left the room. I looked in the bag and then handed it to Lester.

"Here's your guns as I promised."

He looked pleased and left to let the others know. I leaned back on the chair and sighed. Adam sat down and ate the last piece of cup cake.

"I'm tired." I said to him and he looked sympathetic. "I'll head upstairs to make a few calls and searches. I'll be back 'til lunch."

As I walked upstairs my thoughts wandered all over the place. Lester was right, Ranger had lost his edge. He seemed more distant and closed. He wasn't Ranger anymore, and I felt a little bit sorry for him. Then I remembered what he had done to me and decided that this was right for him.

I made a few calls but couldn't focus at all. Ranger and Petrocha kept bothering me and I had to stop the calling. I made a few searches and signed a few bonds and then decided that I had enough time to take a bath. Maybe that would help me concentrate on the business. I let the water pour and took my clothes of. I slid into the bath and sighed. If something was heaven, it was this.

Ranger kept surfacing in my mind. The poor man was lost. He thought I was Vinnie's sister and believed all the lies I told him. The old Ranger wouldn't have fallen for that. He would have recognized me the moment I stepped on those stairs, he would have come to me and kissed me and told me that he loved me and that he was sorry. This Ranger just stood there at loss of words and quiet. I felt... _guilty._

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	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7 for you!**

**It's a quite short one, but I wanted to be a bitch and end it where I end it. :)**

**Thank you so much for the reviews, I love them and you :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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_Stephanie/Charlotte POV_

The next morning I woke up early. I hadn't had much sleep, with the worrying for Carl and worrying about feeling guilty were so heavy on me that I had to take a drink in the evening and it had numbed me enough that I could fall asleep.I had a massive headache and my mouth was dry. I sighed and decided to stay there, covered with heaps of covers and pillows, laying on my back, staring at the ceiling. The room was partially illuminated by the light seeping from under the door. It was still very early, 4.12 AM. This was too early even when I had learned the art of getting up early. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. With no luck in that I rolled off the bed and decided that I should go for a run. I opened the curtains and saw that there was a slight fog on the yard, but that didn't stop me as I headed for the closet to change into my running clothes : a pair of black shorts and a white top. I pulled my sports-bra on and got dressed. I laced my shoes ans streched slightly. I would take a shower after the run, before I would eat breakfast. Then I headed for the gun closet but after standing there for an eternity I decided not to take a gun with me. It was too unpractical, bumping in the pocket or bruising my body. I silently jogged down the stairs, not wanting anyone to wake up or accompany me. I needed alone time to clear my thoughts. I didn't usually run alone, Adam was almost always with me urging me to run faster. He was my own personal trainer. I was in better condition than ever because of him. The other reason was that I had taken my anger out in the gym. I was angry with the world and especially with Ranger.

I started to run as I hit the back yard. I decided to take the usual route, two times around the lake. I ran as hard as I could, trying to push away the worry about everything and the worry about the thickening fog. I ran the first round with out any problem but as I headed for the second a feeling of dread started to rise it's ugly head. I could swear that somebody was watching me but shrugged away that feeling. Almost the whole route was monitored, there was just a distance of about 50 meters (164 ') that wasn't. I trusted whoever was sitting by the monitors and jogged forwards. The feeling of horror didn't go away but I decided that I'll finish the route, then head back to the house. I noticed that I was nearing the unwatched area and as soon as I was out of sight for the cameras I tripped on something.

Before I could say or do anything my face was pressed against the sand of the path and somebody was holding a gun at my head. Heavy breathing could be heard and someone was pressing it's knee at the small of my back. Hands grabbed me and threw me against a tree. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I could feel blood sipping from a nasty cut on my head. My vision was cloudy as I tried to move.

"Don't move or I'll shoot you." a man's voice was heard. I could recognize the voice even in my death. It was the voice that haunted me in my nightmares and terrified me more than anything. It was the voice of the man who had shot me. Petrucha.

I could see a blurry image of a man standing in front of me. He had something black on him and long sleeves. My head throbbed violently. The world was spinning around.

"What do you want?" I croaked out and tried to hold on to the strong Charlotte, but the insecure and very afraid Stephanie was surfacing. I tried to sit up but couldn't, the pain was too intense.

"I love to hear the fear in your voice." he chuckled and sent shivers through me. "I love to see you crawl at my feet, like the bitch you are."

I felt hopelessly alone in the woods with this maniac and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to survive this mess. My sight became a bit clearer and I could see that he had a huge gun in his hand, pointing it at me. My stomach turned and I felt sick. The brave Charlotte was gone, the small, gray Stephanie was holding me in it's grip. Ranger had broken me and I hadn't got my courage back. I was terrified.

"They'll come for me." I said, trying to ignore the massive pain in my head and back. The pain raided through me making it hard for me to breath.

"Yes, but I'll be long gone then. They'll come for you soon and I have to go but I'll be back to play with you soon." he said and without warning shoot me in the stomach. The pain from my head was nothing now, an excruciating pain spread from my stomach and I saw that the white t-shirt was becoming red. Instinctively my hands flew to the wound and a cry escaped my lips. He leaned in and kissed my cheek.

"Don't worry, you'll bleed out slowly." he whispered in my ear and then he was gone.

The pain was horrible, and I focused hard on breathing. My vision became blurrier and blurrier but the pain only got worse. I tried to crawl towards the house but as soon as I moved a sharp shooting pain shot through my spine and neck. I groaned and laid back down on the grass. My right hand grasped the shirt and the other grasped the grass beside me. I could feel salty tears run down my cheeks. I was going to die. I would die before I could tell Ranger about my feelings and that I loved him even though he didn't love me. I moved slightly so that I could feel sand under my hand. The pain shot through me.

I wanted to see my family again, Lula, Connie and Mary-Lou. The tears became floods running down my face. My life, it was over with out me living it. The horror of dying was numbing me, but it was too late. The pain had broken me already. With the numbness came the darkness.

"This was it. I was going to die." was my last thought as I drew a long breath of air and closed my eyes. The darkness took me and I smiled. The pain was over. Finally, I was at peace.

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**Reviews? Hate me for the ending? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8!**

**I know you'll hate me for this chapter :) Yeah, I'm a bitch, and lovin'it**

**Thank you for the reviews, love you!**

**Not mine, not making money :)**

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Stephanie POV

I felt like floating. Like I was under the water, floating with the tide. Gentle movements, no pain, no hurry, no sadness. I opened my eyes and the blueness of the water and the sun shining through it was so gorgeous that I had to take a deep breath. Soon after the feeling of dread returned. I couldn't breath under the water, but a second after that I realised that I didn't have to breath. The breathing was unnecessary and I looked around. I was alone in the water. My libs were like cooked spaghetti, as I floated on and on. Time stood still. My heart didn't beat. I smiled. I felt wonderful. This was truly heaven.

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Lester POV

I had talked to Tank soon after we had left the gym. Ranger had stayed back, trying to take his frustration out on the machines. We had walked side by side down the path to the guest house.

_"I talked to Charlotte today." I started._

_"I know. I know everything." he interrupted me and sighed. "I know who she is."_

_"You do?" I asked. I was surprised that he knew._

_"Yeah. I knew the moment I saw her. Ranger needs to take his head out of his ass."_

We had decided not to tell Ranger, he had to manage this without our help. He got himself in this mess, he would fix it too.

I laid in the bed, not being able to sleep. It was half five AM as I stood up, got dressed and walked outside. I needed to talk to Steph, needed to figure things out. I stepped out and stood for a while, admiring the thick fog outside and gathered my thoughts as Tank stepped besides me. I glanced at him and had no need of talking to him. I knew he wanted to talk to Steph as well. We walked up the path in total silence. We entered the house and looked around. There was nobody up at this hour or if they were, they were somewhere else. We walked up the stairs and knocked on her door. We stood there in the dark hall, waiting for somebody to open. Nobody did. I knocked again. Nothing.

Suddenly the door on the other side opened, and Adam walked out, stopping as he saw us. We stood there silently just watching each other.

"Why are you here?" he asked us and looked very confused.

"We need to talk to Charlotte.. Or Stephanie." I said and watched his expression. It didn't change.

"Yeah, she told me that you know. Hasn't she opened?" he asked and stepped past us to the door and opened it. "Honey?"

We walked in after him and checked the place. It was empty. Adam stepped into the closet and checked the clothes.

"Her running shoes and clothes are gone." he said and walked to a small door in the hall, opened it and checked the guns. I mean, our little bomber could provide an army with ammunition.

"They're all here. She don't have a gun with her."

Dread filled me. These weren't the times to go unarmed. Adam and Tank looked grim and Adam took of through the door running down the stairs. We followed him to the kitchen where he stopped.

"I can trust you right?" he said, measuring us with his eyes. We nodded and then he opened one cupboard, revealing a metal door and pushed in the code. The door swung open and a set of stairs were seen. We rushed down the stairs to a computer room. There were lots of computers and papers laying around. A man was sitting by a set of monitors, looking tired, glancing at us as we approached.

"Hey Ben. Seen Charlotte?" Adam asked and glanced the monitors. There was no movement in the house.

"Yeah... She went for a run a while ago."

"Round the lake?"

"Yeah. She should be back by now." Ben answered and typed on the computer, making the video feed from the lake rewind and played it again. Stephanie ran round the lake and then disappeared.

"Where's she?" I asked them.

"There's a blind spot on the other side of the lake." Adam said and glanced at the clock. "It's fifty meters, she should come back now." he said and she was visible again. We watched her run the second lap, then disappear again. We looked at the monitor, counting the seconds. When she hadn't come out in twenty seconds, the tension heightened. We counted, 30 seconds, 50 seconds, one minute. No Stephanie.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Adam said and took the walkie-talkie from the desk. "Ben, call the H-wing, Michelle and Mark!"

He ran for the stairs and we followed him, drawing our guns. Shit! I felt horror sink through me. She was in trouble and we hadn't been there. We ran out of the house, following the path down to the lake. Adam was leading the pack, with me and Tank following near by. Million thoughts ran through my head, but I pushed them aside, focusing on the task at hand. Adam, ran inside the guesthouse and two seconds later he ran back out with a large black bag in his left hand. "First Aid" could be read on the side. Good thinking, I thought and we ran forwards.  
Soon we hit the path around the lake. I could hear a engine roar in the back, and glanced back but couldn't see anything. I looked forwards and sped up. We rounded one tight corner and slowed our pace. We were now in the blind spot but the fog inside the forest was very thick. Adam stopped.

"Honey?" he yelled. Nobody answered. He turned to us.

"She's here somewhere. I'll go to the other end and start looking. You look here." he said and jogged away. A few steps later we couldn't see him anymore. Tank started to look on the left side and I on the right. After a few steps I tripped on something. I fell. Visibility down there, near the grass was better. I glanced back on what had tripped me and my heart stopped. It was a woman's hand. A woman's hand I would recognize anywhere.

_"Shit!"_

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	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter nine.**

**Happy to keep you at the edge of your seats for while longer. Loving your reviews and you.**

**I just wanted to say, that I hope you all are praying with me for the victims in Japan and the small islands around who are affected by the earthquake, tsunami and now the nuclearplant explosion and the threat of another explosion. I hope that thing's will turn out fine, eventually.I hope I don't disrespect the victims if I upload this chapter. I thought long and hard about this. **

**Not mine, not making any money. (Well I guess all the characters that aren't in the SP novels are mine, so yeah I _do_ own them. )**

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_Stephanie POV_

The floating continued and continued. Feeling of peace and quiet filled my head. The state of ultimate calmness and relaxness, followed me as I moved through the water. I knew that I could swim if I wanted to, but I didn't. I was afraid that the pain would come back, the feeling of horror, hopelessness, sadness, anger, not being good enough, not being able to hold on to people who I loved. Here was none of that, here was happiness, hopefulness and state of euphoria, I wanted to stay here.

As I floated, time became blurry. No seconds, minutes, hours, months, years. Just this moment. I was becoming more and more entangled with the water, it filling me up, my thoughts, body and mind. I couldn't remember anybody from my life, just the emotions. Love, confusion, anger, compassion, feeling of proud, loneliness, sadness, fear, more love. They melted together to make a giant ball of raw emotion, making it hard to wrap my head around it. I felt like choking. Suddenly the water wasn't happy and calm but angry and upset. I was tumbling around like in a washing machine. I wanted away. Please, I begged in my head. Please help me! Somebody, Please!

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_Adam POV_

"Shit!" I heard Lester shout from way behind. I started to run towards the voice, panic filling my mind, dread for my honey. It felt like a dream, I felt like running in quick-sand, moving my legs but getting nowhere. After what felt like an eternity, I reached the spot.

Lester was hovering above my honey, laying on the ground, her white t-shirt red from blood, huge gash in her head and what I suspected a broken right leg. Tank was administering CPR to her. I stood there for a while, just looking at my honey. She looked dead. My heart had stopped beating. Then I woke up from the trance, and picked up my phone.

"Michelle? It's me. She's realy bad, I mean like almost dead bad." I sighed into the phone.

"Oh no!" I heard her gasp from the other side of the lake. "I'll call H-wing, right after this."

"I've got a pulse!" Tank shouted from the ground and I rushed back there. I told Michelle the news and the place we were at.

"It's weak but there." Tank said and looked at me. I saw in his eyes that this was taking it's toll on him as well as the others. I took the bag and opened it. I took care of her head wound as well as I could there in the middle of the woods. Then with the help of Tank and Lester secured her leg.

"I think we shouldn't move her." Tank said and looked at the tree behind her. "I think she hit that tree, and if she did there might be spinal injuries."

I nodded and grabbed her head with my hands, holding it still if she might wake up. Tank was monitoring her pulse and breathing, Lester pressing the wound on her abdomen. The noise of a car was heard. Soon the car stopped beside us and Michelle and Oliver, our medic hopped out. There was also a nurse with them, Cindy's little sister Alisé. They all hurried towards us, faces showing the stress they, and we all , were under. We filled them in on the injuries and then got her on a stretcher and put a collar on her. We filled the car, me and Oliver in the back, Tank driving and the rest piled up on the seats. The drive felt like an eternity, going on and on. Oliver was trying to keep her alive as I applied pressure on the gun shot wound. Her face was white, showing no signs of life as Oliver tried to keep her alive.

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_Stephanie POV_

The storm continued, throwing me around in it's merciless arms, over and over. The horror was back, the fear of drowning. The once so peaceful resting place became the hell I had been dreading for since I was a little girl. I tumbled around and around and then, finally. Stopped. No signs of the storm were visible, I was floating on the surface of the water, gazing up on the sky, blue as the sea on a sunny day, the sun shining making everything grow. Birds flew above me. The sun warming my cold body. But I was shackled, not being able to move at waves went above me, making it impossible to breath every three seconds. I gasped for air. I wanted to go back to the cold world underneath the water. The saltiness of the sea mixed with my salty tears. I struggled to breath as the waves kept hitting me.

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_Adam POV_

The pulse was irregular, jumping all over the place. We had gotten her to the hospital wing on the second floor, in one of the rooms and huge amounts of people were running around, trying to keep her alive. She looked so small on the table, stripped out of her clothes, huge lights pointing at her making her seem whiter than she was. I was instructed to leave the room and I sat down in the little waiting room area. Lester and I sat there silently, our thoughts were there inside the room with the woman who had captured our hearts.

Minutes ticked by, none of us breathing. Then the door swung open, Ranger and Tank flying in. Ranger had a look of shear desperation, panic and worry. He saw us and rushed to us. Tank followed near him.

"How's Charlotte?" he asked us. "She okay?"

I sighed and looked at my feet. I wished I could tell him that she was.

"No." I responded to him and felt him sink to the chair in front of me.

"How bad?" his voice sounded like he had his breath knocked out of him. I glanced at him and saw that he was pale. Like a broken man.

"Bad." I whispered, barely keeping the tears out of my voice. "Very bad."

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_Ranger POV_

I had been sleeping as Tank had rushed through the door. I had woke up earlier, by a stabbing pain in my heart but ignored it and fell back to sleep. As I jerked awake this time by him, the look on his face made me scramble out of the bed and quickly getting dressed.

"What is it?" I asked him as I was tying my shoelaces.

"Charlotte. She's been shot." Tank replied to me.

A weird feeling washed over me. Panic filled with horror and my heart stopped. She's been shot? Breathing was harder and harder and I was near hyperventilating. I felt confused by this, I hadn't even known her. It had to be the fact that she knew where Babe was, I told myself. If she died, I would never see Stephanie again. I took of the bed and followed Tank as we ran through the yard and into the house. I let Tank lead, as I didn't know where we were heading. He led the way to second floor and through a white door in the end of the hall.

A large room was relieved, white and green as was the living room downstairs. I could see that this was a hospital, a desk and waiting room was visible. A huge painting was hanging on the wall. Hm, the same painter as Stephanie loved. I shrugged that away and saw that Adam and Lester were sitting on the couches. There was blood all over them and they sat silently. The feeling of dread became more intense as I rushed towards them.

"How's she?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible.

"Bad." Adam responded. His voice was muffled, like he tried to hide his horror. I sat down in a chair in front of him and felt like all the air in me had been sucked out.

"How bad?" I asked him silently.

A moment of silence.

"Bad. Very bad."

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	10. Chapter 10

**Here's chapter 10!**

**Thank you for the reviews and I agree, Ranger's _very_ stupid :)**

**Not mine (Expcept for what's mine), not making any money.**

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**_Stephanie POV_**

The storm calmed and I was able to breath again. The waves vanished and were replaced with voices. They were murmuring too quietly for me to understand them. The voices sounded worried. I struggled to listen, trying to hear even one word of reassurement.

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**_Ranger POV_**

We sat there in the little waiting room, waiting for any news on Charlotte. The weird feeling in my heart stayed there, even though I tried to ignore it. This was the feeling Steph used to make, but she wasn't anywhere near. At least that was what I thought. Charlotte did look like Stephanie but this ridiculous thought was pushed back. That would be too weird anyways.

Hours ticked by agonizingly slowly, a minute seemed like an eternity. To my surprise Tank and Lester stayed there with me and Adam. They seemed anxious, more so than I had expected. Lester was pacing on the corridor. Adam hadn't moved, he sat on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands, fingers pulling his hair. Tank had sat down beside me, to the untrained eye he seemed calm. But I could see that he breathed more quickly than normally and his hands were clenched.

Little by little the room was filled with more Brown employees. There were about ten woman now sitting in the waiting room with us and about 12 men. All with the same face of horror, worry and love. Charlotte was loved by all of them and they were worried about her.

Then, after four hours, twenty-three minutes the door to the room where she was, was opened. A man walked outside. He was about the same built than Lester, dark hair and large eyes. He was dressed in blue scrubs, and they were covered in something red. I didn't want to think about what it was, but there was a lot of it. He walked towards us, no one daring to move or breath. He took of his gloves and threw them in the trash. He looked tired, like someone who had to focus on something extremely small, under a huge stress in over four hours. He looked at the amount of people in his waiting room and then stopped. The tension was unbelievable.

"She's stable." Everybody in the room started to breath at once and relaxed a bit. They who had stood up, sat down again or leaned against the walls.

"Stable but in critical condition. We're lucky." he continued looking mostly at Adam. He stood up and started to follow the doctor. He turned around.

"Lester? Tank? Want to come with me?" he asked and in a second they were all walking away from us. I was left there, completely puzzled. Why did they go with him? I guess it was because they were there to rescue her. They had been trained well, all these years of looking after babe. All the cars, fires and rescuing her from Morelli.

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**_Adam POV_**

Lester and Tank followed me as I walked to the room. We were led in and were greeted with the most horrifying sight. Stephanie was laying on the operation table, huge cast on her leg, bandaged stomach. The area covered was larger than I had thought, leading me to think that there had properly been massive internal bleeding. Her neck was still in a collar, supporting her spine. The cut on her head had been bandaged. She looked incredibly small, vurneable laying there. We helped a couple of the nurses to move her into a hospital bed. I took the blanket and pulled in over her, it helping to keep her warm.

There was a room next to this, a normal patient room we used for critical patients. It had a door leading into the operation room, making it quick to move the patient. We pushed her through it, followed by a ton of mashines that were hooked to her, heart monitors and the rest of them.

We got her into her place and the nurses left us alone. Lester sat down on the couch in the room. It was blue, going with the rest of the decoration. A huge window looking over the backyard was on the opposite wall. Another door led to the hallway outside. A large bathroom was on the right side. The beeping of the monitor was calming, her heart beat stable, normal.

"Wow. That was too close." Lester said from the couch, voice cracking a bit.

I nodded. Too close.

"I must organize security outside her room." I said to them and brushed my hair out of my sight, still looking at her small frame on the bed. _She was alive_.

"I'll stay here tonight." Lester said. "You go get some rest. Organize your stuff. Go to the gym, take your time."

"That's very kind of you" I said, approving the thought of a cold shower after a hard work out. Tank and I stood up, leaving the room. The waiting room was empty. Everybody were back to the same routine.

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_**Lester POV**_

I sat there on the couch, just watching her for a couple of hours. She looked peaceful and that made me glad in a way. She was away from the stress and anger for a while at least. It looked like she was smiling at the world. I smiled too. The stress was getting to me, adrenaline vanishing from my body. I stood up, shacked the tiredness away, walked over to her and took her hand.

"Hey, beautiful." I said to her quietly. "Thank god you are alive and almost fine. It's not that bad, don't be afraid. I'll be here with you. And, no I haven't told Ranger about you, so don't worry about that. Worry about getting better for me and the rest of the guys. Adam's so sad, you know? He don't show it but I know. It's like me, sad but still happy. We'll hunt the bastard down who did this to you and teach him a lesson. Don't worry, beautiful, I'll be here holding your hand the whole day and night too. Get some rest and get better."

I moved the stool beside the bed and settled there. The stress of the day made me fall asleep there, holding her hand.

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**_Stephanie POV_**

The waves disappeared totally. I was laying in the shallow waters, in the calm water the sun shining on me but it didn't make me blind. Birds flew above me and as I laid there I heard a voice. I couldn't move my head to search for the origin of the voice.

_"Hey, beautiful. Thank god you are alive and almost fine. It's not that bad, don't be afraid. I'll be here with you. And, no I haven't told Ranger about you, so don't worry about that. Worry about getting better for me and the rest of the guys. Adam's so sad, you know? He don't show it but I know. It's like me, sad but still happy. We'll hunt the bastard down who did this to you and teach him a lesson. Don't worry, beautiful, I'll be here holding your hand the whole day and night too. Get some rest and get better."_

It was Lester's voice. I could feel another type of warmth in my hand. The sun shone and life was sweet. I smiled.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11!**

**Thank you for the reviews, I'm becoming addicted to them :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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Ranger POV

Lester didn't come back to the guesthouse that night. I thought this was puzzling. He usually did come, even to tell me that he wouldn't come back, but not tonight. I hadn't talked to him since he left with Tank and Adam. Tank had came back soon after I left but Lester was nowhere to be seen. Tank had just said that there was somebody important who needed him. They way he said it made me think instantly about my babe. They had been close and it hurt Lester so much not being able to talk to her daily, so I guess the feeling was mutual.

I sat there in the darkness in the livingroom or my bedroom. Tank was asleep, this ordeal had made him so tired that he hadn't came with me for a late night swim like he used too. I felt left out in a silly way. They knew something and I didn't, and the worse part was that they didn't want to tell me what it was.

As I sat there I started to think this through. Lester had been acting weird since that morning he did the searches. He had talked to Charlotte after that and then they had been really close, with her talking to him and vice verse. So I assumed that the thing was in something Charlotte said or knew. She did know Steph and where she was. Maybe it was that?

That the two, Charlotte and Stephanie, looked so much like each other made me sucpicious. After Lester had been acting weird I had looked into Charlotte, Vinnies sister and had found nothing. Vinnie didn't have a sister. So who was she?

She could be Stephanie, I thought, but that didn't fit in the puzzle. She wouldn't have taken us in to live in her place. But wait, she would take Lester even if she didn't have a place. And Tank. She would help them not me! That was the last piece of clues. She hated_ me _but not them.

I hopped away from the window and spurted down the stairs and into the main house. There I didn't care about the cameras or the noise, they would stop me. I took the stairs three in a time and ran down the corridor and hospital wing. There I stopped behind a desk. Two large guys were guarding a door, so I guessed that she was in there. I hadn't seen that they had wheeled her in the corridor, so there had to be a door in the operating room. I quickly found a used blue scrub and put it on. Then I just marched into the operating room, with out them looking twice at me.

When I was I walked to the door and silently opened it. Lester was sitting in a chair beside the bed. Now when I had figured it out I couldn't imagine how stupid I had been. A set of lenses and new hair color and style had fooled me. As I walked in Lester looked at me but in the dim light he could only see the doctor clothes, and he relaxed back in the chair, releasing her hand. Quietly I wheeled the chair he sat in into the other room and locked both of the doors. Soon they would notice so I had to be fast. I stood beside her, looking at her small frame on the bed, all bandaged and sick. My heart ached. I took her hand.

"Hey. Babe." I said my voice nearly breaking. "I finally figured it. I'm so sorry babe, please forgive me. I didn't mean it. It came so quickly and I ment to say yes, I really did." My voice broke and I was nearly sobbing there, thanking god that nobody else were there.

"Please forgive me. I didn't know how much you meant, mean to me until you were gone. You took my heart with you, I couldn't sleep or eat. I was a living dead without you. Please forgive me babe. I love you with all my heart. Yes, I do, I can keep telling you that the whole eternity. I love you Stephanie Plum, I love you. I'm so, so, so, so sorry!"

"Hey!" somebody shouted from the other side of the door, kept on hitting it. I glanced at the door, then focused on babe.

"Please open your eyes babe. Please, I beg you! Open them, please..." my voice was just a whisper as I focused on her eyes. Seconds passed, a minute passed and then, she opened her eyes, quickly closing them again. She moaned in pain trying to get comfortable.

"Shh, it's okay babe. I'm here." I whispered to her and stroked her cheek making her relax.

"Ranger...?" she croaked to me. I smiled.

"Yes, babe. I'm here."

"Do you mean it?" she asked me, for a moment puzzling me. The hitting of the door continued.

"Yes. I love with my whole heart."

She smiled to me, squeezing my hand.

"I love you too."

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Stephanie POV

I laid there on the beach, in the sun shine listening to Lester as he told me everything. Then he fell asleep. I couldn't fall asleep, I was there in the middle, not awake or asleep. I watched the birds and enjoyed the sun. I listened to Lester's quiet breathing. Then the warmth in my hear was replaced . The other had felt warm now. The breathing was on the other side too. It didn't sound like Lester.

"Hey. Babe. I finally figured it. I'm so sorry babe, please forgive me. I didn't mean it. It came so quickly and I meant to say yes, I really did."

Ranger? I was puzzled. Did he know? I was dragged out of the sea onto the hard, sharp rocks.

"Please forgive me. I didn't know how much you meant, mean to me until you were gone. You took my heart with you, I couldn't sleep or eat. I was a living dead without you. Please forgive me babe. I love you with all my heart. Yes, I do, I can keep telling you that the whole eternity. I love you Stephanie Plum, I love you. I'm so, so, so, so sorry!"

He loved me? I felt more puzzled and to my surprise the voices became clearer and louder as I moved up the beach. I felt my senses come back, the smell of disinfectants and coffee, the feeling of sheets, the taste of metal in my mouth. It was harder to breath.

"Please open your eyes babe. Please, I beg you! Open them, please..." his voice was as clear as if he was standing beside me. Open my eyes? But they were open, I thought. But the realization that they weren't made me gasp for air. My eyes had been closed the whole time, but I had seen the beach, sea and sun. It felt like my eyes were glued together but I fought against that. I blinked them open but closed them quickly. The dim light in the room where I was made me blind.

"Shh, it's okay babe. I'm here." he whispered to me and stroked my cheek. It felt good after all the time I hadn't felt anything.

"Ranger...?" I croaked into the room.

"Yes, babe. I'm here."

"Do you mean it?" I whispered to him, refereeing to what he had told me. Somebody was hitting on something. A door?

"Yes. I love with my whole heart."

I smiled into the room, with my eyes still closed. I squeezed the hand in mine.

"I love you too." I whispered and hoped that he had heard it.

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	12. Chapter 12

**As most of you guys know so I have been very busy lately, that's why I haven't updated in like forever! So, sorry about that.**

**This is a quite short chapter but I hope you like it. **

**Thank you again for the lovely reviews, they mean so much for me so keep it up :)**

**Not mine, not making money**

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"But I don't want to!"

It was time for me to leave the hospital wing and Oliver insisted that I still would have to wear the stupid collar. It made me look stupid and I couldn't see properly with my head tilted in that position. But when I pointed out these facts for him he just smiled and said that I would get used to it. And if that wasn't enough Ranger had agreed with him. With a stupid smirk on his face, he stood there in my hospital room by the door, waiting for me. I felt so angry with everyone that I refused to go with him.

So I grabbed my crutches and slowly made my way out of the room. I had a huge cast on my leg which made walking harder than it used to be. My stomach felt sore, and the bandages were changed twice a day. Not that I could see that, with the idiotic collar on me. I muttered angrily as I walked towards the hidden elevator we had beside the stairs. It was forbidden to use it unless it was a emergency. I could see that Ranger followed me and so I turned around to tell him not to. He wasn't fast enough so I saw the smile on his face. This made me more angry.

"This isn't funny!" I yelled at him but could still see a hint of a smile on his face. "Argh! This isn't funny Carlos! And don't follow me!"

"I love you!" he said to me as I pushed the button in the elevator. He was leaning against the wall and was smiling at me.

"I love you too." I said angrily to him and watched the doors close. I heard the faint laughter from outside the doors.

The ride up was uneventful. I leaned against the back wall and looked at the numbers that blinked above the door. I stepped out of the elevator and walked across the hall and into my apartment. I glanced at the watch. 2.15 pm. I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a bag of grapes and fed Rex. He stopped running only for a short moment, the time it took for him to stuff two grapes into his cheeks. He looked beyond ridiculous when he returned to the running.

I called some clients after that. I sat down in the office, supported my heavy leg and worked hard. When I looked up and glanced at the watch I was shocked. Already half eight! I closed my computer, satisfied that I had ran several searches today. I didn't feel so hungry so I ate only a half a sandwich and then made my way to the bedroom. It was untouched since I left it that morning. The light blue pillows seemed to stare back at me so I threw them into the corner and chose orange-yellow colored accessories. It meant mixed emotions and that fit me perfectly right now. I was still kinda angry but love and uncertainty mixed it up.

It was already almost ten when I was finished in the bathroom. It was a struggle to wash myself without getting any water on the cast. Or the bandages. Or to pick something up, I couldn't bend at all. After that struggle I decided to go to sleep. I felt exhausted about the events that had happened lately and Ranger certainly didn't make matters more easy.

After half an hour of turning and tossing around I still didn't feel comfortable. I switched the bedside lap on and stared at the ceiling. To many thoughts were racing in my mind and I felt uncomfortable with the cast and collar and stupid bandages everywhere. I felt frustrated that I had been so stupid that day, why didn't I take a gun with me? I knew about the danger and still I left the bloody thing at home. I felt like I had let everybody down that way, now I was a burden to the whole company and Ranger and his crew. Even though they had tried to object I felt this way.

I pulled the covers higher as I got cold. This couldn't continue like this, with me staying awake the whole bloody night. I swallowed my pride and picked up the phone.

"Yo." his voice wasn't sleepy so I assume he wasn't asleep.

"Yo." I said and remained silent as did he. The only sound that you could hear was his breathing. Minutes ticked by as I listened to it.

"Want me to come over?" he asked a while later.

"Yes, please."

He hung up on me and after a while I tried to adjust my leg. The bloody thing wouldn't move. My frustration reached a whole another level.

"Stupid shit!" I said to my leg and stared at it. A chuckle was heard from the door. I looked up and Carlos stood there, leaning against the door frame. He looked at me for a second and then undressed and got into the bed. I felt still cold so I moved towards his body, seeking the warmth. I felt Carlos reach underneath the covers and lift my leg with the cast so I could get comfortable. I turned the lights off.

"Thank you." I mumbled and leaned against his warm chest. He wrapped his arms around my waist, gently trying not to hurt me.

"So you're not mad at me anymore?" he asked and I felt him kiss the top of my head. I smiled into the pillows.

"No." He hugged me closer.

"That's good. I don't want you to be angry with me." he said to me and I traced my fingers on his arm.

"Me neither. I love you." I whispered and closed my eyes.

"I love you more." he replied to me.

"That's not possible." I murmured and the silent laughter made me fall asleep.

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**What did you think? Please review**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's chapter 13! **

**I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to update. I've battled with writer's block and I didn't want to publish a total piece of.. I hope you like this one. Just a hint to you, Ranger is Ranger with Charlotte but Carlos with Stephanie. If you know what I mean, they're (S & C) two totally different persons. Kinda.. Confusing I know  
**

**Thank you for your reviews! I'm trying to answer to them all but sometime's I just don't have the time to do that. I try to answer to the reviews that are more than just a few words. **

**Not mine, not making money.**

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I woke up when the suns rays hit my face. I slowly opened my eyes and smiled to the fact that Carlos was still in bed with me. The digital watch on my bedside table said that it was almost eight o'clock. I smiled at the sensation of his strong arms around me and snuggled closer. He sighed and hugged me closer. We stayed silent, enjoying the fact that we were together after many years.

I couldn't really say why but I felt uneasy. After I had left him he had been in my thoughts all l the time. Still I had to rely to myself to keep myself alive, and even though I laid in my own bed with my own batman I couldn't completely relax. I listened to every sound, glancing around the room. I could feel that Carlos was awake but didn't say anything to me. Fine by me, I didn't want to talk to him either.

I wiggled my way out of his strong hold and with a death grip on my gun I made my way out of the room with one of my crutches and checked the apartment. Nobody there. I made my way to the hall and checked Adam's apartment. He was still sound asleep and I made my way back to my apartment. Ranger was leaning on the bedroom door frame, watching me as I laid the gun down on the table in the middle of my own hall. He looked at me in disbelief, probably wondering about me touching a gun without wincing and I decided to ignore him. There was so much that he didn't know and I knew that he wouldn't like them at all. All the time's I had been injured, all the close calls. At this hour I wasn't in the mood to start explaining the past year or so to him. I made my way to the kitchen, took a tuna sandwich out of the fridge. I ate it leaning against the counter while Ranger walked over to the kitchen and took an apple out of the bowl and sat down and ate it. Well stared at me and occasionally took a bite of the apple. I started to feel nervous about his stare. I decided that I needed to talk to him, even though I didn't want to.

"I think it you should follow me today." I said to him and took a water bottle out of the fridge. "I don't think it wise for you to start wandering around the house. You wouldn't be safe."

"_I_ wouldn't be safe? " he asked me in disbelief and walked over to me, stopping when there wasn't room for a hair in between us. "You're the one with crutches and head collar, and you're worried that I wont be safe?"

"Yes." I said to him and stared him blankly in his eyes. I saw that he was bewildered and confused my behaving. I saw anger, pain, doubt and guilt flash in his eyes. "Now would you mind moving, I need... _we_ need to be going."

He didn't move for a while. I sighed and ducked underneath his arms. I grabbed my crutches and walked over to the closet and chose a typical outfit, a pair of black pants and a green t-shirt. I walked out and Ranger stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in the same clothes as he had yesterday. I took the gun from the table and made my way out of the apartment.

"Normally I would head down to the gym, but now I can't with this stupid cast. So instead we're going to head to the basement." I said to Ranger as I made my way down the stairs. The crutches or the cast didn't slow me down, I was quickly down the stairs. I looked back at him while we walked over to the down stairs kitchen.

"Shouldn't you take it more carefully?" he asked me as I hopped down the stairs to the basement. He looked worried and like he was ready to catch me if I fell. I laughed at the irony.

"I've done this a million times, Ranger." I said when we emerged in the computer room. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other. I've had crutches five or six times here in the UK."

I saw his eyes widen in surprise, his jaw tighten and anger and guilt was visible in his eyes. I didn't know whether it was because of what I said or what he saw. I glanced at him while we walked over to the monitoring area. I smiled and hugged Andy who was sitting, watching the monitors. He looked happy to see me. He was one of my finest computer technicals and was in his early twenties. He was one of Europe's leading hackers as well. He looked like a geek, and was one. Even on his free time you could find him here with the computers.

"Hey Andy. Where are the others?"

"Adam's still asleep, no surprise there, Cindy's in her apartment, working on a undercover thing and I think the hit team is in western London, bringing in a half-million pound skip. Oh, and Michelle is with Cindy as well. Your looking good, feel that way too?" he asked when he returned to the monitors.

"I'm feeling fine, just a little sore. I think we'll head for Cindy's, I want to introduce everybody to Ranger here." I answered and pointed to Ranger who was standing behind me.

"So you're Ranger?" Andy asked and looked up in curiosity. "I have heard a lot about you."

Ranger shook his hand and watched the slim man in front of him.

"This here's Andy, our data specialist." I said to Ranger as I knew he wondered what a man like Andy could do. I smiled at Andy and led our way to the second floor. Ranger was following me like a lost puppy. The Charlotte part of me was visible today, Stephanie had been left back in the bed. I sensed that Ranger was confused with the sudden change in my personality. A little voice in my head told me to tell him but I wasn't ready for that yet. Telling him meant getting hurt again, crying and showing other sides of weakness. I didn't want to do that in front of Ranger again. I had bared my soul to him and he had hurt me. I didn't want to go through that again.

Michelle was indeed in Cindy's apartment. I remembered vaguely that she would go undercover soon, it was part of catching Petrucha. I made my way to the make-up room, leaning against the door frame. Michelle was unrecognizable and they both looked up when we appeared. I saw Michelle lower her gun when she recognized us. Pure anger flashed in her eyes.

"So you're Ranger?" she snapped and got up, scaring Cindy. She marched across the room, pointing her finger at Ranger. I could see that he found this amusing. Not for long.

"Yes. You must be Michelle." he said, ever so politely.

"Don't even try that with me!" Michelle said to him and I could see that Ranger was thinking over his choices. "I know you! I know you're an bloody bastard who broke her heart! I know, so don't try anything or I'll hunt your down and hurt you so bad that you wont know what hit your sorry ass!"

A complete silence filled the room as Michelle pointed her finger one more time at Ranger and then hugged me. Cindy was looking at the scene, slightly shaking her head. Then she returned to washing her brushes. This was completely normal for Michelle. Ranger was standing slightly behind me starring at the small but very dangerous woman hugging me.

"How _are_ you?" she said to me still hugging me.

"I'm fine" I answered to her, hugging her awkwardly back. The collar made this usual greeting very uncomfortable. "What's been happening?"

"Well... McAddams wants you to call him, then there's three huge open cases, as well with the Nicholson matter. Then there's a couple of searches they want you to do..."

"How many?" I asked her and grimaced slightly. I knew what her "a couple" meant.

"Well... If you count them all it would be... about 37."

"37 searches? Well, I'll try to run them today or tomorrow..." I said and shifted my weight. I was beginning to feel tired. I glanced at Ranger, who was still looking at us. "Anyways, I just wanted to say hey and introduce Ranger properly to you all. But I think it's wisest if we talk tomorrow as I have 37 searches to do. I wonder what the heck everybody does these day's." I said, shaking my head as I looked out. Another great day that had ended with rain. Got to love the weather here.

"Well.. You're the best searcher, Char. And we other's want to find that Petrucha idiot." Michelle said to me as she returned to the chair and let Cindy do her thing.

"How's it going?" I asked as I could feel Ranger tense behind me. Michelle looked tired.

"Well... We have a lead and I'm going undercover to see if I can find anything. But so far we don't have anything concrete to build on. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I know you're doing your best. And please get some rest, you look like a zombie." I answered to her and then we said our goodbyes. The walk back up to my apartment was silent as I hopped on and Ranger followed behind me. I knew this was puzzling to him, he was observing and absorbing the information he gathered. I made my way to the office in my apartment and Ranger followed. He stopped and stared at the wall with the photos. I could guess which photo he was looking at. The one in the middle, the one with us laughing. I sat down, focused on Ranger in front of me and my desk.

"You kept this picture?" he asked and I could almost swear his voice broke a little in the end. I thought about what to say to him.

"Yes." I said after a while. He was still looking at the picture. Stephanie was emerging from the bedroom but Charlotte refused to let her into the room. Ranger walked towards the picture and touched the picture frame with his fingers, looking almost longingly at it.

"I kept it too... It's on my bedside table. It's the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing I see before I fall asleep."

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	14. Chapter 14

**Here's chapter 13!**

**Thank you for your reviews, I love them all!**

**Everything not mentioned in the books are mine. :)**

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_**Adam POV**_

No matter what Charlotte would say I knew that she was still deeply in love with Ranger. It shone in her eyes, like a light house in a storm. Her blue eyes were the window to her soul and I've seen them every day for the time we've been working together. I've seen her happy, in pain, doubtful, in her own thoughts, mad, worrying, you name it, I've seen it. And I know that she's in love with Ranger.

Since I met her she has brought joy and excitement in my life. She used to tell me about her life in the states and how she misses them all. She told me so much that I was sure I could recognize them anywhere. Lula, Connie, her grandma, all the merry-men and Ranger. I knew more about Ranger than any other and that was because I realized that talking about ranger made her happy. Even though she didn't recognize it, her eyes lit up in a special way every time his name was brought up and her hand would go to the necklace she wore everywhere. She watched RangeMan's every move all the time, analyzing them carefully.

She dreamt about him as well. I had stayed more than one time with her as she slept. My presence was calming for her as she had had a bad day. The night immediately after the shooting she had had nightmares and had cried after Ranger all night. It made my heart break that I couldn't help her in any way, I just sat with her the long hours with tears running down my cheeks, my heart breaking every time she sobbed, it felt like a hot dagger was stabbed through me over and over again.

That night had been the toughest in my whole life and I had spent many nights in combat, laying in thick terrine. I had seen death and had endures torture but her desperate cries after a man who had turned her down was crushing. It took my whole concentration not to fly, hell even swim, to the states and break the bastards neck with my bare hands. But at the same time I knew that she loved him and I couldn't hurt the person who had given me my life and future.

My life had changed so much since I met her. She had given me a job that I love, many friends and well, the life I dream of. I loved her but still it was only friendly. I didn't see her in that way, she was more like a sister to me. I loved her with all of my heart but I knew that she loved Ranger with all of hers. I still didn't know why he didn't? I mean, she was perfect, beautiful and smart, sensitive and caring, tough and loving. How can't you love someone like that?

I got my answer when she was in surgery after the attack from Petrucha. Ranger didn't stop worrying the whole time. We worried too but he worried like the love of his life was in surgery. He loved her and she loved him, they didn't see that yet. With both of them stubborn as hell I knew that they needed someone to push them. And who was better than me?

I followed Ranger with Lester. He was my eyes on the "inside", besides we both had the mission to get Stephanie and Ranger back together. He would convince him and I would work my magic on her. I proved to be an easy task. She bursted through my door a couple days after they had arrived. Her hair was everywhere and her eyes seemed to be too large for her face. She started to pace in front of my office desk and I stood there, completely confused. She continued the pacing and I turned back to my papers. I knew that she would talk when she needed too.

A couple minutes after she sunk down in the chair in front of the desk. I put the papers aside and turned my full attention to her. She looked sick, pale and clammy. She lifted her feet underneath her and sunk further down in the chair way too big to her. She looked like a child, a very sick child, seeking help from me.

"Ranger?" I asked her and leaned back in my chair, observing her. Her hand flied to the necklace and she glanced around the office.

"I can't do it, Adam. I just can't!" She said to me, her voice bursting with held anger, love and sadness. She looked out the window, refusing to look at me.

"Can't do what?" I asked her. She smiled a little.

"What do you think? Him. I can't do this thing with him."

"Why?"

"I can't be this close to him, I love him. He doesn't. Simple. My heart is breaking to be this close to him, with him not knowing it's me, not being able to go to that day and hold my mouth shut. I want to go back. I want him back." she said to me so quickly that I had to focus to hear everything.

"I've changed the pillows ten times today. I'm so confused, Adam. Everything I knew I don't know any more. My worlds upside down, like a pineapple upside down cake. even the cupcakes don't help anymore. I can't focus on anything with him so close to me. And every time I see him I can't get the words "It's me Carlos. It's Stephanie." out of my mouth. I want to tell him so bad but I can't. He doesn't love me so why am I so damn agitated?"

"Because you love him." I stated to her and smiled. "And he loves you too, he just can't say it."

"No he doesn't." she said angrily to me and for the first time looked at me. "You know what he said to me."

"Maybe he has the same thing as you, you can't say you're Stephanie and he can't say that he loves you. He's afraid to hurt you and trying to protect you he hurt you more than nobody else could. He's just scared. Give him time, he'll know it's you."

She stared at me for a long time, her head a little tilted to the right side. Nobody said anything and the clock was ticking on the wall. Then she got up and smiled.

"I hope you're right, Adam. I want to believe your beautiful words but he hurt me so bad."

"I know." was the simple answer I gave to her as I watched her back. She stopped in the doorway and seemed to hesitate a moment. Her small hand was clasping the frame and her head bowed.

"I love you Adam. I hope you know that." she said finally and sighed. I got the feeling something was wrong. She sounded sad and like she was going to do something terrible.

"I do." I answered. "What are you going to do?" I was a little scared of what she might say to me.

"I'm going to bake a pineapple upside down cake." she said to me and smiled. I smiled back at her and followed her to her apartment where I helped her to bake. This was something she did once in a month or two and then she would invite everybody up to have a small break with freshly baked goods. She seemed lost in the moment or in her thoughts every time so I was careful not to disturb her, she was in good mood after the cake was finished. It made her more useful she had told me once.

Then after a couple days she had been attacked and the bottom of my heart fell. It brought back feelings from the last time when she had been shot. Ironically by the same guy. Anyways, that night Ranger had realized who Charlotte was. I gave him the permission to stay with her while she was in the hospital wing.

My impossible mission was complete and I smiled as I made my way to the gun range with Lester. He and I had become very close and it seemed like we had known each other for years. I thanked God for the fact that it all ended well.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for not posting in ages, hopefully you still follow the story :)**

**Thanks again for the reviews, I love to read them!**

**Not mine, not making money**

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_From chapter 13:_

_I made my way to the office in my apartment and Ranger followed. He stopped and stared at the wall with the photos. I could guess which photo he was looking at. The one in the middle, the one with us laughing. I sat down, focused on Ranger in front of me and my desk._

_"You kept this picture?" he asked and I could almost swear his voice broke a little in the end. I thought about what to say to him._

_"Yes." I said after a while. He was still looking at the picture. Stephanie was emerging from the bedroom but Charlotte refused to let her into the room. Ranger walked towards the picture and touched the picture frame with his fingers, looking almost longingly at it._

_"I kept it too... It's on my bedside table. It's the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing I see before I fall asleep."_

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"What do you mean?" I asked him after a long silence with me looking at his back, him looking at the picture on the wall. My voice sounded weak, weak from disbelief and deep down I was worried, happy and angry. I was totally confused.

"I mean that I've been looking at that picture for the last year. Every night when I go to sleep I wish you would be there and that I could hold you while we slept. Every night I dream about you, I feel sad to wake up to the reality in an empty bed. That's what I mean, babe."

I stared at him in disbelief, wanting to trust him, wanting to go back to when things were normal, to the good days like nothing had happened. But I couldn't, not after the way he hurt me that night. He had changed me from the shy and emotional Stephanie to the strong, smart and very private Charlotte who was best in the world at what she does. Better than Batman.

There was no way to describe the pain I went through and what it did to me but I gave my best shot.

"Ranger, as much as I want to believe the sweet things you tell me, I can't. I can't say that the night we shared together meant nothing, it meant the world to me. No please let me finish… As much as it meant it doesn't change the fact that I'm a changed woman these days. Being able to be Stephanie again for a few hours or days has been nice but it showed me the things I ran away from. I made a promise to myself that night while driving to the airport. My promise was to never let my heart be ripped apart by a man ever again. The feeling of you walking over my heart was the most excruciating thing I've ever endured and I've been tortured more than enough. I thought that I knew pain but you took it to a whole another level."

Ranger looked pained as he looked at me but I kept on talking, he needed to know this and I wasn't even sure if I could stop now even if I wanted to. The dam had burst

"By the time I landed in Europe I was another person. I had left Stephanie on the plane to cry over the loss of her heart and I was Charlotte now, the strong, confident, beautiful and private woman who became the leading security expert in Europe. We manage a couple of the world's leading banks, monarchs and heads of states. _We do that_. I have never in my life been so happy over my job than I am now, I feel pleased over what I've accomplished. I've never been so proud."

And yet I was so lonely but I wasn't going to tell him that. I wouldn't let him know that I cry myself to sleep almost every night. I'm not going to tell him that I missed his touch every single day we were apart. No I was going to see the Charlotte I was during the day.

"Babe…"

"No I'm not finished yet. I became you, Ranger. I became quiet, kept things to myself and trusted only my employees, I became good at shooting, and I started to enjoy it. I can bring in a FTA without having to chase him through gardens. I don't blow up my car anymore, when I drive I go into the zone, I workout voluntarily. I don't eat dessert on any other day than Saturday. I became Charlotte, the badass bounty hunter and security expert. I became the job. Finally I feel like Wonder Woman, I feel like I could fly if I wanted to. And I can't change that. You need to realize that Stephanie is gone, Ranger. She's long gone. The girl you fell in love with is no longer here. I'm Charlotte the total opposite of Stephanie and you need to figure that out. As much as I would like for you to stay, I can't let you do that. From this day forward you're just one of the colleagues I've concurred. It's nothing personal, it's just business."

I stood up and left the room. I felt bad for a moment but remembered what I'd said to him, "its just business". That was me now a days, strictly business on business hours, a complete wreck the time I was alone.

I walked over to the living room and looked outside. It was a pretty day with the sun shining and the birds singing. My mind was filled with too much information and I knew I was going to have a headache later on.

I could feel that Ranger followed me and turned my back to the windows. He stood there with his blank face on and stared at me.

"I would appreciate if you would leave now and pack your bags. I will make the arrangements for you to fly back home to the States later tonight. Say my greetings to Connie, Lula and the rest of the merry men. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work, concurring the whole world of security."

Before any of us had the time to move an ear piercing sound was heard and the glass windows shattered. I turned around and saw that three men in black clothes and masks stormed inside the living room. I could barely register the thought "_gun_" before one of the masked men had shot me straight in my abdomen. I could hear somebody screaming but this time it wasn't me. I fell limply on the floor, blood pouring out of the wound. It must have ripped apart some of the stitches because I was bleeding so badly.

I turned my head around just in time to see the men shoot down Ranger. Now I was positive the scream was mine. He fell onto the floor, eyes closed and unconscious or worse. Wet tears soaked my cheeks as I thought about Ranger being possibly dead.

My thoughts were interrupted by the men leaning over me. I could hear one of them laughing and recognized the laughter immediately.

"Petrucha, what do you want?" I spat out at him. The laughter went on.

"You know what I want, darlin'. I want to finish what I've started. Pick her up boys."

I felt strong hands grab me and pull me out of the room via the windows. As I began to lose consciousness I could still see that they had parked a car just outside my windows. Mental note: Never let any cars on the yard.

I was thrown inside the large trunk and I collided with something hard. The thing groaned. I moved myself so that I wasn't on him anymore. I found his hand in the darkness and squeezed it slightly.

"Oh my god, is it you Adam?"

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	16. Chapter 16

_Again. sorry for the long pause in updating. It's the same old, the same old. I wrote this during a camp I was supervising._

_Hope you like it, and thank you for being patient (I sure hope so) with me and my updating. Thanks for all the reviews and kind words. :)_

_Not mine, not making any money from this._

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I gasped after breath as the fist swung; hitting my jaw, breaking it into smaller pieces than it already was in. I bit back and didn't give them the satisfaction of my screams. I had been so badly brutalized that I had given up hope of ever leaving this forsaken warehouse alive. The punches and kicks showered over me as I lay on the cold cement floor, with my cheek firmly pressed against the raw texture of the floor. I knew my cheek must be bleeding, the texture must be breaking my skin but I was so numb that I didn't care anymore. All hope had vanished a few days ago, the small amount of daylight streaming from the small window to meters up on the wall told me that days were passing.

Adam was still slumped on the chair he had been sitting in for the last week. I could see that his chest was moving and thanked god that he was still alive. They hadn't gone easy on him, first hitting him to the brim of consciousness and then making him watch when they brutalized me. Hits, kicks, choking, cutting, burning, raping me, you name it, they did that to me.

In the middle of the night we got a small break. When the warehouse was totally dark and they would have to put the lights on, they let us rest and tend our wounds in the dark, as the light would alarm people. During this time they would sleep, regaining their strength to round two. Or in our case round nine or more.

Tonight was no exception, when it got dark they went to sleep. I waited until I heard the familiar snoring from the other side of the warehouse, then I made my way over to Adam from besides the dirty mattress. My feet had stopped working a few days ago, so crawled with my arms over to him. He looked worse than last night and I ignored my pain to help him. I sat in front of him and took the bloody towel with dried blood on from the floor and dipped it in the bowl of water they let us have to clean ourselves. I watched the towel darken as it got wet. I found this nightly routine soothing in the middle of this nightmare.

I lifted the wet and heavy towel from the bowl and squeezed the excess water back into the bowl. Then I began carefully patting the dried blood on Adams legs. I worked quietly but quickly, shhing Adam when he winced or hissed in pain. Ignoring the pleas from my body, the aching from my limbs, the stabbing pain from my cuts and bruises, all the broken bones and all the bleeding. I had to ignore all of this because I knew I wasn't walking out of this mess, but Adam still had a chance. Petrocha was angry with me, not with Adam. If I gave my slice of bread to him, he would have a better chance of surviving. So I did that, tended to him wounds, helped him eat and drink, urging him to remain strong. The thought of Adam remaining on this earth was the only thing that kept me moderately sane here.

"Charlotte..."

The voice surprised me; Adam hadn't talked since day two or three. His voice was weak, hoarse. I leaned in and placed my palm on his cheek.

"Don't talk, baby. Save your strength."

"Charlotte?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Don't give up honey. We're going to make it."

I didn't answer him, just stroked his cheek. I didn't one word coming from his mouth but I appreciated the thought.

The whole time here I was wondering about Carlos. I realized how much he meant to me and how truly sorry I was for the times I hurt him, and how sorry I was for this mess I was in and that I wasn't strong or smart enough to manage this. I was a failure for not begging able to escape; I was just as pathetic as Petrocha said I was.

The night continued as it had started, quietly. Nothing else than Petrocha's and his man's snoring and our labored breathing was heard. I leaned my cheek against Adam's knee and fell into troubled sleep, thinking that this was going to start all over again.

And I was right, after a short nap I was yanked awake and away from Adam. Two pairs of strong hands dragged me over to the mattress. Defeated I just laid there, watching them wake up Adam with a few well placed kicks and punches. I looked up at the ceiling, I knew what was going to happen and this was my way of avoiding reality. I heard the sickening sound of a zipper being pulled open. I swallowed my tears and took a deep breath.

This time the guy I named Bad-Breath started. He was more gentle than Petrocha. I could tell that he did this to me because he was afraid of Petrocha, not because he hated me. His moves were careful, he looked sad while he did his thing above and inside me. I continued to look at the ceiling, locating all the cracks and smudges I had watched for so many days. I winced only slightly when his hands grabbed the bruises shaped like hands on my hips, masking the move so that Petrocha wouldn't get suspicious.

I barely heard the sickening sound of the mattress squeaking or the sound of flesh slapping against skin nor the grunts of Bad-Breath made. I continued to look at the ceiling, thinking about the times I'd been with Carlos. The first night, those forbidden emotions, the heartbreak, the regret of ever leaving and these few days before this mess. I loved him, I was sure of that and I'm pretty sure he loves me too. I knew that he wasn't dead, I knew that I would have felt something if he had passed on. I knew that sacrificing my life was a small sacrifice to make if Carlos, Adam and the rest of my guys would be OK.

I was jerked back to reality by Bad-Breath moving away from me. I feared the things that would follow, now that I was at Petrochas mercy. I braced my body just before the first kick. His working boot hit me square in my chest, all the air squeezing out of my body hurt like hell. I curled up as well as I could do without my legs.

His hands grabbed my hair and yanked me up and threw me down, face first, into the hard cement floor missing the mattress by a few steps. I hissed but reminded laying there. No point of making this worse than it already was. I felt his weight pin me harder against the floor. He grabbed my hair and pulled my head and upper torso away from the floor. He told Bad-Breath to spread my legs apart and apparently he did that because I heard a zipper being opened. I couldn't feel a thing in my legs, being barely able to feel the vicious raping. Not that I complained, to feeling anything was the greatest gift here.

I heard Adam stir and then the sound of a body part colliding against somebody. By the groaning I would guess a very sensitive area.

Just as Petrocha sped up I heard a shot being fired. Everybody froze and a voice full of hatred was heard from the doorway.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

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	17. Chapter 17

_**Sorry this one's short but I needed to end it there. Sorry :)**_

_**Thanks for the reviews, hope that you'll leave me some new?**_

_**Not mine, not making money**_

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_**Steph POV**_

I opened my eyes and wondered what was making so much noise. I looked up and saw Ranger's worried eyes on me and he smile a relieved smile. I was in so much pain that I couldn't believe it.

"Hey babe." Ranger breathed and took my hand. "You're on your way to the hospital and you're going to be fine, just fine."

"Ranger…"

"Yeah, it's me. Don't talk, you're going to be fine."

"Is Adam okay?" I asked and hissed at the pain of breathing and talking brought. I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. Ranger smiled at me and shook his head.

"Always worrying about everybody else but yourself. Yes, Adam's fine. He's on the other ambulance to the hospital. You are going to see him soon, love."

I seriously doubted that but wasn't going to tell Ranger yet. I knew that I was dying and there was no way of stopping it. I was just happy that Adam was fine and that Ranger was fine, nothing else mattered to me. I sighed happily even though it brought a new wave of pain over me.

"Babe, you are not going to die!" Stupid ESP… "You are going to be fine and healthy and happy. And I hope that you will be happy with me. Babe, you cannot die because I love you, I need you and I want you to be with me for the rest of my life. I know that I was foolish back then but then I realized how much I really needed you and how much I loved you. And still do. Babe, you are the sole reason for me to be on this planet. You are the reason I live, I breathe and I want to be happy with you when this mess is over. I love you babe and I don't want to lose you."

I felt the tears form in my eyes as I looked at the man that I loved. His speak had come from the heart and it hurt me that we didn't have the time to be together.

"Oh, Carlos I love you to, I need you too and I want you too. But there' nothing I can do about this." I said and smiled up at him. I sensed that he felt it too now, and I squeezed his hand harder as I felt the last piece of life being sucked out of me. I heard the heartbreaking scream and then nothing more. Finally I felt like I believed life should be, nice and calm. I was floating on clouds.

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_**Ranger POV**_

"I'm sorry Mr. Manoso. There isn't anything we can do, she's gone sir."

The bottomless pain surged through me as I cried over her still warm body. The pain was so strong that I wanted to rip out my heart. It felt like I was choking on something, like I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stay here; I needed to get some air. I rushed my way through the white hallways of the hospital, running at full speed out of the hospital and into the nearby woods. I ran and ran until I collapsed on the ground, uncontrollable sobs passed right through me.

I don't know how long I stayed there, the pain never ending. All the time we didn't have, all the time we could've spent together, all gone. I was so distraught that I didn't even hear the light footstep on the leaves until it was too late.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" A voice full of loathing said to me. I looked up and gazed right into Petrocha's dark, menacing eyes. "If it isn't the guy who ruined my plans. I was having fun with her you know? But you, you came and ruined everything!"

Petrocha pulled out his gun and leveled it with my head. I didn't feel afraid; I was kind of hoping that he would shoot me and end my misery.

"You're nothing but a scumbag." he said to me and pressed the barrel against my head. I closed my eyes and smiled. "Good thing for you I don't have time much time at my hands so this'll be quick. Say goodbye to the world asshole!" he said and pulled the trigger.

I felt like smiling. I was floating on clouds and felt relaxed and at peace. This was home. I looked at my right and saw my babe's face just inches from mine. She was smiling at me.

"You came!"

"Even death doesn't keep me away from you." I answered and smiled at her, my heart filling with love.

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	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry! It's been ages I know, I really do. I have fired my muse and currently i'm looking for a new one. Been sick, have had a few infections as so long. Not trying to make excuses.**

**Anyways, I hoped you could help me out. I have to do a 10 page project and I have to interview people. If you love to be an angel please go to my page and PM me your answeres to the questions to me. It's going to take less than 10 minutes I swear and you would totally save my behind. And that way I would have more time to write the continuation to this FF :)**

**Thank you for all the reviewers I haven't thanked in PMs, I love you all. Keep up the good work! **

**Not mine**

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I heard strange commotion from nearby. Men's voices screaming, arguing about something. The voices got louder as the banging inside my head calmed. Strange, it sounded like Chris, one of my employees. And some other voice was heard too, but I couldn't bring myself to recognize them even though they seemed familiar.

"By the love of god Tank move over!" I heard a voice and it all came back to me. Tank was here. The voice belonged to Lester and I heard the familiar chuckle of Bobby.

"Can wait until you tell her." Lester continued. "She's going to flip out. "

I longed after the familiarity of their voices, their presence. I was okay. I felt my heart soar with happiness. I was going to live happily ever after with Ranger, I mean Carlos. Still felt strange to call him Carlos instead of Ranger but it felt right. My heart had known all along that he was the missing part in my soul.

Then it hit me. I remembered the torture and the terror. Oh my god the beating s and the raping. Adam! What had happened to Adam? I could remember Ranger coming, the ambulance but after that I couldn't remember a thing. I struggled to open my eyes.

I shut them quickly; the bright, clean light hit me like a truck on a highway. My head started to throb, black dots flying across my vision.

"Beautiful? Are you awake?" I heard Lester ask and felt pressure in my hands. I opened my eyes again and gazed into his green eyes, filled with worry and hope. I saw that I was in a hospital and that Tank and Bobby were there too. They all looked worried and sad but to be honest their eyes weren't the eyes I looked for. A pair of chocolate brown eyes was not seen and I felt my heart sink.

"Hey" I croaked and Lester swung into action. Still holding my hand, he reached out and grabbed the glass with water and guided the straw between my dry lips. I couldn't believe how thirsty I was as I had finished the glass. I gazed into Lesters eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that the way you treat friends you abandoned and left behind? He asked me and a glimpse of humor was seen in his eyes. But there was something that was hiding behind his blank face and he kept glancing at Tank and bobby. Something wasn't right.

"What is it?" I asked calling their bluff and they all glanced at their boots. "Where is Ranger?"

Lester looked like he was between a rock and a hard place as he watched me. I became more and more agitated and the heart rate monitor was going insane as my heartbeat raced through the roof.

"Well the thing is…" he began and twisted his hands, like he was nervous. My mind was screaming at me and fear filled me. This couldn't believe that our happily ever after wasn't going to happen.

"What Lester, spit it out" I said and my voice showed the fear in me

"We came to rescue you and Adam. Ranger found you and got you quickly in the ambulance and we… eliminated Petrocha. We thought it was over, you and Adam were going to be okay and so. Ranger got into the ambulance with you and we drove after it. He was so scary when he was looking for you; the man hadn't slept or eaten enough during the time you were missing. Kept blaming himself for it too. Anyway, we got to the hospital a few minutes after the ambulance and the strangest thing happened. You we're still in the ambulance but nobody else were visible. Your heart rate monitor was screaming and we all thought the worst, so I climb up and give you a last kiss on the forehead and noticed that you aren't dead! So immediately we thought that Petrocha must have had an inside man in the ambulance and that they faked your death so that Ranger would die of sorrow and that they would have the advantage and they could kill him. So Tank rushed into the woods and founds Ranger just as a guy shots him. Tank kills the man and rushes Ranger into the hospital. Meanwhile I had taken you inside and they wheeled you into the OR.

That had to be the scariest 10 hours of my life. You in your operation to fix the internal bleeding and Ranger in the operation room next doors getting his bullets out of his body and fixing some bleeding too. That was a week ago and we've been here since. Ranger hasn't woken up yet but the doctors are optimistic about his recovery. He is just next door"

I laid there listening to his story, getting angrier by the second. Lester just kept on talking, not noticing the fury inside me. Like an open book, my ass. I felt sore all over but that seemed so unimportant right now. Tank , Bobby and Chris stood beside Lester on my right side. The door was to my left. I knew what I had to do.

"Oh my god, who's that and why is he lurking outside my window!" I screamed and all four men sprung into action, jumping to the door with their guns drawn. I sat up, ignoring the pain and ripped out the equipment strapped to me. Before they even noticed I was in the hall limping with my cast and heavy bandages. I was a woman on a mission and I wasn't going to let anything stop me. Not even the fact that my butt was hanging out of my robe. I banged the door open to the room next door and heard footsteps thundering behind me. I limped to the bed and looked at the man lying in there. He looked so fragile and lonely but that didn't stop me. I took a breath and started.

"You son of a bitch! You... You idiot!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and hit his arm. "What on the earth were you thinking? Were you thinking at all? Fuck you, going all Romeo and Juliet on me! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What were you thinking!"

I heard that Lester chuckled from the door and said "I told you she was going to lose it." but I didn't care. I was beyond furious; I was outraged that Ranger walked right into certain death. What was he thinking? I hit his arm once again, slumping myself on his chest, sobs ripping me apart as I cried all my fears out. What if Tank hadn't been there? What then? He would have died and I was going to live without him? No way ever, I couldn't live without him a single day anymore, I realized that now. The time apart did only increase our love for each other and I couldn't help but to surrender to the feeling. I lifted my head up and gazed at him. Was it just me or was he smiling?

"Babe…" he breathed and smiled wider. I stood there and looked at him as he opened his eyes. His eyes cut to me and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. "Hey." he said.

"Oh no mister!" I said channeling my inner Lula." I ain't done with you just yet. Do you think that you could just "babe" me and smile and that everything would be okay after that? Have you completely lost your mind!"

"Yep." he said and just kept smiling at me and kept squeezing my hand.

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**Reviews? Remember to PM your answers to the questions? :) Love you**


	19. AN

I'm so, so sorry but I need to take a small pause in my writing due to some problems in my personal life. I'm dealing with some major issues at home and with myself and I don't think it's fair to post some shit that I'm not pleased with_ at all_. I hate to keep you waiting but then on the other hand I can't write like, _anything_ right now. I hope you are not too upset with me. I'm trying hard to fix this situation.

I'm so sorry!

_-Love, Zofia_


	20. Chapter 20

_**I know this is short, but I needed to get this story finished. I might come back sometime and finish it, but now I'll probably foccus on something else. I must say THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart as you have had the patience to bear with me and my updates. I'm sorry for any inconsistancies. This story didn't follow my plans, it lived and changed all the time.** _

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SPOV

I stepped out of the plane and the soaring heat engulfed me immediately. The sun was scorching through the rest of the ozone layer hovering above Jersey. Not a single cloud was visible. I took a tight grip of the stairs that lead down to the sea of people waiting for us. I could barely see my feet from underneath my huge seven month belly and felt a huge wave of relief when I felt Carlos' hand on the small of my back, helping me get down the stairs.

We we're released from the hospital in England a year ago and after a long talk with Carlos we decided to stay back there permanently. We joined our companies and formed R&S, a multinational company that operated in both the USA and the UK. We gave all the employees a chance to pick wherever they wanted to work, Adam had wanted to visit Jersey for a while and when given the chance he jumped on the first plane to Jersey. He had risen to the core team there, now working with Tank, Bobby and Cal since both Carlos and Lester decided to move to London. I had heard rumors that he had hit off with Connie and they were indeed confirmed when I saw her in his embrace waiting for us to get off the plane. Right beside them stood Tank and Lula beaming at us.

A glorious night seven months ago we found out that I was pregnant. We were horrified but ecstatic and at the same time horrified. Both of us were terrified with the thought of losing each other even more to lose the baby. Luckily the pregnancy was going great and I got the chance to visit our families back home before she was born.

The days were busy when we were visiting Jersey. Meetings with clients and employees and families filled our days and I was happy to see them all as were they. WE got a lot of hugs and kisses and quite a lot of teary eyes. I was a bit sad when we had to go back but I was happy that I was with Carlos and that we had a baby on the way. We had a lot of great friends and security, we had nothing to be afraid of as Petrocha was eliminated and I had cut back on the skip tracing. I was now handling the finances and enjoyed it greatly. Life was great and I sighed happily against Carlos' shoulder as we flew over the Atlantic back home.

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_Sorry and thanks!_

_-Zofia  
_


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